Government funds free meals for California students until summer 2023

PHOTO: Students can now receive free breakfast, lunch and snacks at Davis High’s All Student Center.

By Elliot DeJong,

BlueDevilHUB.com Editor-

A new federal government policy allows all students, regardless of their financial status, to get free breakfast, lunch and snacks at all Davis schools for the 2021-22 school year. 

This has already caused an estimated 40 percent increase in cafeteria customers district-wide. Around 20 percent of the total student population now eats a school meal – a figure which Mark Powell, Davis Joint Unified Director of Student Nutrition, wants to double.

The free meals program was adopted nationally at the beginning of COVID-19 as an extension of the National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option, which provides no-questions-asked free meals for students under 18 during summer break. 

The SSO program replaced the NSLP’s previous system for the 2021-22 school year — which organized meal pricing based on income to provide free, lower-priced or full price meals for students — in response to the financial instability many families faced during the pandemic.

The federal funding for the extended SSO program is set to end at the end of the 2021-22 school year, but all Davis students are guaranteed free meals through 2023.

To qualify for free meals next school year, students must go through the NSLP’s application process to determine if they can receive federal financial aid in the form of free or reduced-price meals. Any expenses beyond that will be covered by the California state government.

While the SSO program lasts, many students who would not typically get school lunch are seizing the opportunity to receive free meals. “Last week was the first week I had gotten (a school lunch),” DHS sophomore Everett Watterson said.

Foods such as tacos, pizza, salad and hamburgers are often served at lunchtime in the All Student Center on the Davis High campus. Some of it is prepackaged, but Powell is working towards supplying cafeterias with completely fresh food to cook on campus. “It’s my goal to improve … and to provide as much real, fresh, cooked food as we can possibly provide for you,” he said.

Powell hopes he can make DJUSD meals as “restaurant-like” as possible over the next two years, while following the nutritional guidelines set by the District. 

“In a French restaurant, if something’s not quite good enough we just add butter. You can’t really do that here,” he said.