All Brookfield school students will be able to get lunch and breakfast for free starting this school year, provided students take all of the elements of a meal as determined by the federal government.
District Treasurer Jordan Weber said he is excited to offer free meals because, of all the things a school provides its students, a meal is one of the most valuable.
The policy change also means the school will not rack up debt in the cafeteria fund because families have not been paying their lunch bills.
“The state changed the criteria by which certain kids qualify for direct certification of free and reduced lunch,” Weber said. “There is all kind of background red tape that has made that easier for schools that maybe in the past did not qualify.”
Students still will be able to get extras, such as desserts, if they pay for it, he said.
A full meal is an entree, which includes a protein and a grain, a fruit or a vegetable and a milk, Weber said. Provisions are made for students with food allergies. Students who do not grab a full meal have been charged ala-carte prices, even if they qualified for free or reduced-price meals, he said.
Students who do not want a milk or a fruit can place these items on a “share table,” and other students who maybe want an extra milk can grab it from the share table, Weber said.
In the past, the cafeteria staff has been lax in making sure kids grab a full meal, which also abetted the debt accumulation, he said.
High School Principal Megan Marino said she was unaware of the full-meal requirement until last year, and did not promote the share table because she did not know of its significance, she said. Weber said he did not become aware of the full scale of the problem until later in the school year.
Families need to be better informed about what a full meal is, board member Melissa Sydlowski said.
“If our administration doesn’t know, our parents don’t know,” Sydlowski said.
Administrators pledged that educating families about the meal program is a top priority.
“We’ll make it very publicly known – if a parent wants their kids to eat for free, they’ll grab a whole meal,” Weber said.
In the near future, school administrators will ask the school board to transfer money from the general fund to the cafeteria fund to wipe out the cafeteria debt, which Weber estimated is above $50,000. He called the debt “huge for a school our size.”
Even though students will eat for free, Weber encouraged parents to fill out applications for free- and reduced-priced lunches because they might qualify for other benefits, such as a stipend for groceries in the summer.
