Gwinnett County Public Schools will have to charge for meals next school year, but the district is working on ways to help more students eat for free.
Gwinnett and many other school districts have offered breakfast and lunch for free for close to two years because of multiple federal waivers. Waivers issued early in the pandemic allowed to schools to deliver meals. A waiver in place now removes the requirement for school meal programs to be self-sustaining.
That waiver will expire at the end of this school year. Joe Heffron, the district’s chief financial officer, discussed the change with the school board at a recent budget meeting.
The waiver expiring will not affect qualifications for free or reduced meals, Heffron said.
Next school year, the district will expand its free breakfast program to include all Title I elementary schools. Title I middle and high schools already have free breakfast programs in place.
Heffron said the district is also seeking Community Eligibility Provisions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those provisions would enable schools in low-income parts of the county to offer free lunches.
While meal charges will be reinstated, the prices will not change; Heffron noted that they have been the same for about a decade. Breakfast across the district will be $1.50. Elementary school lunch will be $2.25. Middle and high school lunch will be $2.50.
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