PHOENIX — Some families are no longer having to stress about paying for their kid’s school lunches.
Right before former Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman left office, she allocated $6.75 million in pandemic relief funds to waive fees for kids who pay a reduced price for lunch. That translates to paying for more than 2.2 million meals from January 2023 through the 2023-2024 school year.
Mom Maria Rodriguez has four kids to feed, which costs can stack up. She visited St. Mary’s Food Bank on Friday, grabbing some extra food for her family.
“It is a lot of money, especially when, like for me right now… I’m looking for a job,” she said. “But it’s really hard to even look for where to get money to eat every day or to give them to take to school every day. It’s really hard.”
Because of their income, her kids qualify for free school meals, which she is thankful for.
“It's very helpful. Very helpful,” she told ABC15.
While more than two million meals will be given out for free over the next year and a half, Mesa Public Schools (MPS) says this will help more than 5,000 of its students, saying they won’t have to pay 40 cents for a meal.
“40 cents can be a barrier to many families, especially if they have multiple kids in the district,” said Sabrina Kvavle, the food service director for MPS.
She says it’s important for kids to get fed, because they may not be able to learn if they’re hungry.
“We had many students that come who are hungry and tell us these are the most food they get all day long, breakfast or lunch, at school,” she added.
Not everyone is a fan of this move, though. Some believe the funds could’ve been used toward other essential school needs.
Liberty Elementary School board member Bryan Parks posted on Facebook in response to Hoffman’s post saying in part: “Why… are we so worried about school meals when children only have a 30% proficiency in reading/writing?... If you teach kids how to read and write, we break the poverty cycle. We need funds for teachers and curriculum, not meals.”
It is important to note that the funds aren’t automatically applied. Families who haven’t already applied for free or reduced lunch will need to do so and will get it if they qualify.
