Offering school meals at no cost to families benefits all students and their parents, teachers, and schools. Multiple studies show that students with access to free breakfast have improved attendance rates, improved participation rates, fewer behavioral incidents, lower suspension rates, and better overall health. On June 8, 2023, the Board adopted a resolution in support of free school meals (breakfast and lunch) for all students.

 

WHEREAS, the past few years have highlighted just how much families rely on school meals to keep their children fed; and

 

WHEREAS, offering universal school meals benefits all students and their parents, teachers, and schools; multiple studies show that students with access to free breakfast have improved attendance rates, better attendance in school, improved participation rates, fewer behavioral incidents, lower suspension rates, and better health outcomes; and

 

WHEREAS, since Pennsylvania continued providing one free breakfast daily to all students through the 2022 - 2023 school year, the West Shore School District School has seen more than a 33¹/₃%  increase in breakfasts served daily as compared to pre-pandemic participation rates; and 

 

WHEREAS, universal school meals reduce financial stress and work for students, families, and schools. Parents should not be required to do burdensome paperwork to prove they need free meals, and schools should not be turned into debt collectors when families can’t pay; and

 

WHEREAS, if a family with one elementary child in the school district paid to eat breakfast and lunch every day in West Shore School District, they would be paying $26.25 a week $913.50/School Year. With universal school meals, that money is able to be spent on other essentials or spent in the community, thus helping local businesses thrive; and

 

WHEREAS, if the state passed and implemented the Pennsylvania Universal School Meals Act and continued to cover the cost of free breakfast and began covering the cost of free lunch, it would provide much-needed financial relief for families, communities, and school districts. In West Shore School District, this would look like more than $947,161 that could be returned to the local economy; and  

 

WHEREAS, without legislative action, at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, once again only students with a family income of 185% of the poverty level or below will qualify for free or reduced school breakfast and lunch. For example, a family of four must be living on $36,075 or less to be eligible for free school meals. Additionally, because of rising supply chain costs, some schools have been forced to raise meal prices, meaning that families who were paying for meals before will now pay even more; and

 

WHEREAS, distributing and collecting applications for free and reduced-price meals, certifying students for the proper school meals fee categories based on parental income, verifying a subset of applications to comply with federal requirements, and assigning and reporting each meal served to the correct reimbursement category are complex processes that absorb the time of principals and teachers as well as school food service staff, time that could be better spent on education; and

 

NOW THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED that the West Shore School District Board of Education fully supports School Meals for All (SB180 and HB180) so that all kids throughout Pennsylvania can receive the food they need to be successful in school and further work to remove the stigma that has always existed in the school meals program. 

 

MAY IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the West Shore School District Board of Education calls upon our fellow elected officials to support these efforts by passing resolutions at the local level, co-sponsoring legislation at the state level, and advocating for kids across the state to access the healthy food they need during the school day; and that a copy of this resolution be posted on the School District’s website and mailed to all elected State Senators and Representatives serving the School District in the Pennsylvania Legislature, and to the Governor of the Commonwealth.