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SALT LAKE CITY — With California becoming the first state in the nation to provide free meals to all public school students, what programs exist in Utah to assist students whose families may be unable to pay for school meals?
California Assembly Bill 130 was signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsome on July 9, 2021, making California the first state to implement a Universal Meals Program, providing free meals to all public school students, regardless of their family's income status.
Prior to this program, students qualified for free meals under particular federally set criteria, which included aspects like parents' income taxes, the level of poverty in the school's surrounding area and the zip code where the family lives.
Mark Peterson, public relations director at the Utah State Board of Education, said Utah is not currently considering any type of universal free lunch.
"To implement it would require a funding source. California funded it through their legislature," Peterson said, adding that Utah's school board "has no taxing authority. It would have to come from either the (Utah) Legislature, which has access to income tax funds, or districts, which have access to property tax funds."
Over the past two years, the National School Lunch Program waiver provided free meals to students at eligible schools regardless of income. That waiver, however, expired at the end of the school year in June.
Although Utah isn't considering a free school lunch program, there are still options for families who may be unable to afford meals. In some areas of the Beehive State, this is a hefty percentage of the student population.
In Alpine School District — the largest district in the state — nearly 19% of students are enrolled in free and reduced lunch programs, according to a survey from the Utah State Board of Education.
Granite School District has 43% of its student population enrolled in free and reduced lunch, while the Salt Lake City School District enrolls 45% of its students.
In more rural areas, like the San Juan School District, for example, 73% of students get free or reduced lunch.
So what options exist for families and students seeking help with paying for meals for children who are students?
For the current school year, families can submit an application for free or reduced-price meals, said Kathleen Britton, director of child nutrition programs for the Utah State Board of Education. Eligibility is based on federal income guidelines or participation in other programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Students who are considered homeless, migrant, runaway, participating in the foster care program, or who are enrolled in Head Start or other eligible pre-kindergarten programs, may also be eligible for free and reduced-price lunch and should check on eligibility with their local participating school, the State School Board said.
Peterson said the state is using some of the remaining Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds — part of COVID-19 relief funding — to cover lunch debts that may occur this year.
"These are all individually, LEA (local education agency) based, so each individual school district can determine if they have any funds to cover this," Britton said. "They've already received their funds and if they would like to use them to cover lunch debt, they can, if they have them (funds) left."
"We highly encourage parents to fill out free and reduced lunch applications," Britton said. "The last couple years, they haven't had to do that and in order to get the meals at no cost, they do have to do that this year."
All Utah school districts and some public charter schools participate in the National School Lunch Program, along with some private schools.
Britton said that families should look to their respective school district websites about how to apply for free and reduced meals.
