During the 2021-2022 school year, Montgomery County Public Schools announced that all school lunches would be provided free of charge to all students. Additionally, breakfast and dinner meals were distributed at designated food distribution sites throughout the county.
However, this year only students who qualify for free and reduced priced meals are not charged for breakfast and lunches. Eligibility is determined by family size and gross income.
Montgomery County is one of ninety-five percent of Maryland schools that participates in the National School Lunch Program, which aims to maintain nutritional free or low-costing meals every school day.
During the midst of the pandemic in 2021, the National School Lunch Program administered “2.2 billion meals, 98.9 percent of which were served free or at a reduced price… due to the USDA pandemic waiver allowing for meals to be provided free of charge to students,” according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
“To qualify for free or reduced [meals] in Montgomery County, families must meet or exceed the 185% poverty rate in the county,” Director of Food and Nutrition Services Barbara Harral said. “This is a huge disparity with what it really costs to live in Montgomery County… a huge pocket of students are affected by this.”
Richard Montgomery High School junior Ashlee Argueta ate school lunch last year when they were free for all students, but recently stopped buying school lunch as a result of the policy change. Furthermore, she noticed that the line for school lunch this year is notably shorter than last year when lunches were free.
“I really liked how there were free lunches for everyone last year. It was very convenient and saved me a lot of money. I think the new policy is unfair since some students may be struggling financially, but not enough to qualify for free or reduced-priced meals,” Argueta said. “This year, I walk about eight minutes from my school to Rockville Town Square, where I pick up lunch from Panera or Starbucks.”
On the other hand, some students are not affected by this change in policy.
“MCPS discontinuing the free daily lunches for students doesn’t affect me since I bring my lunch from home every day. There’s usually a long line in the cafeteria to get lunch, and I try to maximize my time with my friends in the short lunch period. I also understand that it must be costly to provide free lunches every day for anyone who wants it,” said Richard Montgomery junior Ifrah Reyal.
Article by Ellie Noh of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo courtesy of Norah Sonti of Richard Montgomery High School