Superintendent Reykdal Announces Proposal to Provide School Meals at No Cost to All Washington Students
OSPI will submit the proposal to the Governor and Legislature for consideration in the 2023 Legislative Session. If funded, all Washington students will have access to universal school meals by the beginning of the 2023–24 school year.
OLYMPIA — September 8, 2022 — Learning while hungry presents many challenges for students. While Washington has made great strides in expanding access to school meals, federal waivers have ended and hundreds of thousands of students headed back to school this fall will be expected to again pay for meals during the school day.
Under a proposal announced today by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, all of Washington’s 1.1 million students would receive school meals at no charge as part of their basic education.
“When students are hungry, their ability to learn and engage in school is impacted,” said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal. “Quality nutrition is a key component of student success and access to meals is an important part of being at school. We have to stop expecting families to foot the bill for resources and supports that are a normal part of the school day.”
During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, waivers from the federal government allowed all students to eat free of charge. Starting this school year, though, those waivers go away, and 330,000 students and their families will once again be required to pay for meals or submit meal applications to determine eligibility for free or reduced-price meals.
“Food is health. Consistent access to nutritious food is a part of how we protect kids from getting sick while ensuring they have the fuel they need to learn, grow, and play,” said Rep. Marcus Riccelli (3rd Legislative District). “And free school meals are the most effective way to ensure that all of our kids are getting the food they need to thrive. This is an important step on our path to ending childhood hunger in Washington. Feeding kids can’t wait.”
Federal requirements govern student eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. Under current requirements, a family of four with a household income of $51,338 per year would pay around $2,330 per year for their children to have healthy breakfast and lunch provided at school. With universal school meals, all students would eat without fees, regardless of family income status.
In 2022, the Legislature made great progress in ensuring more of Washington’s students receive free meals at school by requiring all eligible schools to participate in the federal government’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). This program provides meals without fees to all students in schools with large percentages of students experiencing poverty.
With the expansion of CEP, in the 2022–23 school year, over half of Washington’s students will be in a school providing meals to all students at no cost. Reykdal’s proposal asks the Legislature to invest $86 million annually to provide meals at no charge to the 330,000 students not currently eligible for free or reduced-price meals and not attending a CEP school.
“Over the pandemic I saw students enjoying school meals who didn’t previously because of the stigma associated with free-and-reduced price lunch programs,” said Drayton Jackson, Central Kitsap School Board President and Federal Relations Network Chair for the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA). “A universal free school meals program will eliminate that stigma and result in more students being fed.”
Although school meal program regulations prevent identifying a student’s free or reduced-price status to peers, the stigma persists. Receiving free or reduced-price meals can sometimes be a source of shame for students, resulting in them being less likely to access meals at school.
“Students know when their peers can’t afford meals in our schools,” said Zachary Glenn, former Student Representative to the Kennewick School Board and 2022 graduate. “When students are hungry, it makes it more difficult for them to focus on school, and it also creates a clear divide in the lunchroom of who can and can’t afford food. Universal free school meals directly addresses these issues and lets our schools provide supports for every student.”
School nutrition services professionals know the pitfalls of the free and reduced-price model firsthand. From tracking student meal debt to following up on incomplete forms, the current model creates many administrative deficiencies that would be eliminated with universal free meals.
“Students and parents are nervous about missing the deadline for applications or not having enough money on their student accounts,” said Megan de Vries, Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Edmonds School District. “We want students to spend their energy on learning, not stressing about basic needs.”
Several states have moved to a universal meals model, including California, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Washington has an opportunity to join a growing number of states leading the country in providing meals to all students at no cost to the student.
The proposal to provide students with universal access to school meals is the fourth in a series of transformational budget and policy proposals Superintendent Reykdal will unveil through November called Washington State Innovates: K–12 Education for the 21st Century and Beyond.
