Statewide, Iowa — For the last two years students all over Iowa were able to get free school breakfasts and lunches, but that program has now expired.
KIWA spoke with Cheryl Heitritter, who is the food service director, at Sheldon Community Schools. She tells us why this program was put into place.
When Covid began many people could not go to work as offices, restaurants, stores closed. When school closed down for good in March of 2020, it confirmed to the USDA that when school did resume people would not have the money to feed their kids at school, some people were having trouble feeding their kids at home as well. This is when programs for food services began.
While the school was shut down many schools did offer lunches for students. Sheldon had their teachers hand out sack lunches at various spots in the community, such as church parking lots.
Once school began in fall of 2020, free breakfast and lunches were offered to all students, no matter what the family income was. This continued for the school year of 2022. Heitritter tells us there was a bit of a difference in the number of meals served in Sheldon.
When school begins parents need to know that this program has expired. The USDA will not be extending the program as Covid numbers are down and people are back to work. If your family needs help with school lunches you can visit https://www.sheldonschools.com/ and fill out an application to find out if your children can get free or low-cost lunches.
