For the first time in years, students don’t have to worry about a school quarantine. Many have stopped wearing masks, and many have moved on with their lives. However, the end of this era means the end of a highly discussed policy, free school lunch for all. 

US Dept. of Agriculture meal wavier expired

The United States Department of Agriculture’s school meal waiver has expired, and many students have had to readjust to life without free food. This waiver allowed free lunch to be given to all public school students in America, and although it was created due to the global pandemic, many still wish that the waiver had stayed in effect. The policy has impacted students and staff alike, and the events surrounding it must be explained.

“I truly enjoyed giving away free food,” said Susan Piper-Sack, the head of the lunch department at Shorewood. 

Piper-Sack has worked in Shoreline as a lunch provider for more than 20 years, and her years of work for the community brought her into the head position in 2017. She and the other lunch staff,  Parveen Abdul-Aziz, Feng Chen, Sonja Nelson, and Sadia Sheikh, spend every day providing food for the whole student body. 

COVID-19 meal plan in affect

The challenges of the pandemic did not stop them from helping the community. “Even when there was no school in session during COVID-19, we still worked hard all year to make food for any families that needed it,” Piper-Sack said. “We put the food we made in boxes, and families from Shoreline whose jobs were affected by the pandemic would just drive through and pick them up. We actually did some home deliveries every week, and we took the food right to their door.”

High lunch prices effect on district

Although the USDA’s nationwide decision has ended free lunch at Shorewood, Piper-Sack is still hard at work to make breakfast and lunch for students every day. 

“My job is very rewarding, and I love feeding hungry people, whether they’re paying or not,” she explained. Piper-Sack also revealed that the burden of lunch prices is placed on the district. With the rise of inflation, food prices have likewise gone up, and in order not to lose profit when selling school lunch, the Shoreline school district is required to raise the prices. This has happened in all Shoreline schools, not just Shorewood. Many students, however, are rightfully unhappy with the situation. 

Students response to new policy 

Ursan Henessy, sophomore, regularly ate school lunch last year. “It was fine because the quality didn’t matter as long as it was free,” Henessy said. “I think with the change in policy though, the lunch prices aren’t very fair for the quality of the food.” After all, free food is hard to beat, and some feel that the current quality just isn’t enough to charge money for.

This last comment is one heard fairly often, but the issue is harder to fix than it would seem. According to Piper-Sack, the staff is only given food by the district that falls in a certain price range, so that the school can keep its finances balanced. The food does fill all nutritional requirements, and is selected by a director with a degree in food science. This year in particular, a grant was given to Shorewood for organic farm-to-school ingredients. That said, the variety and amount presented is sometimes not enough for students. However, the lunch staff works hard to make the food as tasty as possible. It is made fresh, and sold as quickly as possible at the set prices to make sure that students receive fresh food. Students still in need of free lunch because of low income, problems due to the pandemic, or other important reasons are able to apply and qualify to receive meals free of cost. Piper-Sack explained that this does not take too much away from the school’s profit, as the grand majority of students do not apply, and can afford lunch already. 

Back to normal with lunch prices 

Because of this low percentage of students who apply, many remain neutral in regard to the policy change. School lunch before the pandemic was the same, after all. Though the prospect of having to pay for what was previously free seems daunting, it hasn’t been too hard to adjust for most students. Many simply move on as before, such as sophomore Sam Hicks. “I don’t really mind the change in policy. I know other students’ opinions are varied, though,” Hicks said. 

Remember to bring lunch money!

Indeed, a variety of opinions are to be had on this change, and some students are still adjusting.  “We have experienced students coming without money to get school lunch, thinking that it’s still free. 

We’ve just had to communicate with them that they need to bring money, and we still provide them with food, though their account goes into the negative,” Piper-Sack said. “We’ve let parents know about the change, but the students aren’t always aware.”