K-12 Schools

Operations

Minnesota says yes to universal free meals

Also in this week’s K-12 legislative update: Pennsylvania looks to continue its universal free breakfast program and a federal bill would require schools to serve soy milk.

Operations

Pennsylvania school breakfast participation gets a boost thanks to free breakfast program

Over 23 million breakfasts have been served to students through the program, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The workers, represented by SEIU Local 99, are calling for higher wages, more full-time work and increased staffing levels.

The state would join California, Maine and Colorado in offering universal free meals at school.

A recent survey showed that 126 school districts in the state have accumulated a total of $1,414,122.86 in current unpaid school meal debt as of March 2023.

A new report by the Food Research and Action Center shows that breakfast and lunch participation during the 2021–2022 school year was higher than that of pre-pandemic levels.

U.S. Senator John Boozman and U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx have written a letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack asking for the comment period to be prolonged by 30 days.

Faced with staffing shortages, K-12 nutrition directors have come up with creative ways to make sure that kids keep getting fed.

The budget earmarks over $15 billion in funds to allow more school districts to take advantage of the Community Eligibility Provision

There’s a lot of culinary talent in school districts around the country, as these student-created dishes prove.

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