School nutrition providers told Ohio lawmakers this week they re tired of hounding parents for school lunch money when their child s account accrues debt. Each week, said Daryn Guarino, director of food and nutrition at the Alexander Local School District, he reminds around 250 families that have begun to accumulate lunch debt. That s more than one-third of the school s population. .
Preliminary data shows schools are serving fewer meals than they did last year, largely due to the end of nationwide pandemic-era waivers which allowed schools to serve meals at no cost to all children. According to a recent report, Kentucky saw a 34% increase in lunch participation and a nearly 3% increase in the number of kids who ate breakfast at school over the past few years. Clarissa Hayes, Deputy Director for School and Out-of-School Time Programs at the Food Research & Action Center, said the gap between Kentucky kids receiving breakfast and lunch now appears to be widening as kids and families go back to the tiered eligibility system used to determine who qualifies for free school meals. .
Red tape and other hurdles are getting in the way, especially for those children who aren't getting nutritious meals at home, the people in charge of keeping kids fed in Kentucky school .
Red tape and other hurdles are getting in the way, especially for those children who aren t getting nutritious meals at home, the people in charge of keeping kids fed in Kentucky schools said. Leah Feagin, Nutrition Director at Mayfield Independent Schools, said administrative burdens and differing guidelines for federal programs have left her with mounds of paperwork, including having to provide attendance rosters in order to feed kids after-school snacks and supper, which she says is time-consuming. "Why are we having to jump through all these hoops when, if I m doing this for breakfast and lunch, I m obviously going to do this for snack and supper? I m not going to do it a different way," Feagin said. " .
SALEM, Ore. A new project with a grant from the federal government aims to invite Hispanic students in Oregon into agriculture and technology careers. Chemeketa Community College in the Willamette Valley has received a grant from the U.S. .