Some changes coming to school lunches

Updated: Jul. 22, 2020 at 10:33 PM CDT
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - When schools first closed due to the pandemic, the US Department of Agriculture passed a waiver that allowed schools to feed any student who showed up and even give out meals in bulk.

“You saw in many cases, we were passing out gallons of milk and jugs of juice because they could get multiple days’ worth of meals,” State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey said.

But when school starts back in a few weeks, State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey says that waiver goes away and things will go back to normal so to speak, which is one meal per person, per day.

“They will have to use a roll to make sure that the child is on roll and then again if the child is not on free lunch then they’ll have to pay for the meals that parent come pick up,” Mackey said.

Families that qualify for SNAP benefits have been taking part in the Pandemic-EBT program which covers meals missed since school closed on March 18th through May 29th. The Department of Human Resources says the P-EBT benefits are good for a year from the day you got the card.

Some school districts say that if a student chooses the virtual school option then meals will be provided to them. You’ll need to check with your school to find out their plan because not all are the same.

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