Lawrence looks forward to second year in schools meal program

It’s lunchtime at school, and friends and classmates are running to get on line. But there are student who can’t join the line because they don’t have enough money for lunch, so they have no choice but to wait until after school to eat at home.

Lawrence school district officials have eliminated that scenario by taking part in the Community Eligibility Provision, a federal program in which districts in high-poverty areas offer complimentary breakfast and lunches to all students.

The program provides meals to students regardless of economic background, eliminating the stigma for students who already eat for free because they automatically qualify for federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $229 billion state budget includes $134 million to supplement the CEP program to allow more districts to participate in it. It is now available to any school, group of schools or district in the state in which 40 percent or more of the students directly qualify for free school meals.

The deadline for schools to opt into the program is the end of August.

This past school year, Lawrence officials said, the program was highly praised in its inaugural year. “It’s a great advantage that we have for our students in the fact that all of them are able to receive their breakfast and lunch for free,” Superintendent Ann Pedersen said.

She noticed the positive impact the program had on students, Pedersen added.

For the lower grades, such as the Early Childhood Center at the Number Four School, food is delivered to classrooms. The elementary, middle and high schools incorporated a “grab-and-go” system in which the students are greeted with breakfast when they enter their buildings, and can pick up their lunches on their own.

Research conducted at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School Center for Policy Research in July 2019 found that universal free lunch led to increased test scores in math and English Language Arts among students at all income levels. Non-poor students’ scores improved by an average of 11 percentage points, and poor students by average of 5.4 percentage points.

Being properly fed, Pedersen said, makes a difference not only in how students perform, but also in how they take in information in the classroom.

“If you don’t have a good healthy base, it’s not going to give you the start that you need,” she said. “We supply the milk, the fruit and the carbohydrates that are really needed. We want (students) to be prepared for learning, and sleep and proper eating are two key components.”

Incoming Lawrence High School senior Jayden Emery does not eats school-made lunches, but rather brings lunch from home. Emery noted, however, that many of his classmates benefit from the program.

“The Community Eligibility Provision Program is a saving grace, to say the least, to many students at Lawrence High School,” Emery wrote in a text. “Many students who attend Lawrence High School struggle to find comfort when reflecting upon what their next meal will be.”

The food options, he added, could be improved for his classmates who are vegetarian, vegan or non-dairy. “There are definitely better options and flaws within what is served,” Emery wrote, “but for many students who have come to the district and even to the county just recently, it is a major aid to those who need it.”

Recent Lawrence High graduate Alexandra Acosta said she found the program very useful, because she sometimes didn’t have enough time to make breakfast before leaving for school.

“In the morning I would be rushing straight to school because I didn’t have enough time,” she said. “When I would walk through the front door, (a meal) would be right there on a desk.”
The program went above and beyond for students who really needed it, Acosta added. They had the option to take more than one lunch, to bring another home with them.
“Being able to see that the school is able to provide food was very beneficial to some kids,” she said. “Some, unfortunately, don’t have anything at home, and they had the option to bring a salad and such, and that is very encouraging to see.”

Acosta, who will be studying on the American Public University system in the fall, has a unique appreciation for the CEP program: For the past four years she has volunteered at Gammy’s Pantry, a food bank that provides food to those in need, at the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence.

Gearing up for Year Two of the CEP program in the district, which will continue through 2026, Pedersen said she hoped to get feedback from students about which food offerings are their favorites and which aren’t.

“Maybe we’ll do something like have an iPad by the grab-and-go area,” she said, “where they can rate their satisfaction with the selections.”