Census figures show that the number of children who live in poverty in Virginia is on the rise, and school administrators across the commonwealth are using new money from the federal government to do something about it.
There may be no such thing as a free lunch. But for kids who live in poverty, there is often no lunch at all. That’s why the federal government has a new program aimed at schools and school divisions with the highest rates of poverty. It’s called the Community Eligibility Provision, and basically pays for all the lunches at high-poverty schools — regardless if the student qualifies for a free lunch or not.
Chris Duncombe at the Commonwealth Institute says only half of the schools that qualify are participating.
“This is really an excellent way of increasing kids’ access to meals, both breakfast and lunch, reducing administrative work for schools. And it also reduces the stigma of having free and reduced price meals for certain kids and not for others.”
In Henrico County, for example, 29 schools qualify. But only 10 participate. The School Board recently added a couple more to that list.
But Melissa McKenney of Henrico County Council PTA says the county should expand to all the schools that qualify, even if it means the local school division might have to kick in a little extra money to make it happen.
“There are many other factors to consider, the impact of being enrolled in these programs is more than just financial for these students.”
The deadline for schools to apply for the federal money is the end of this month.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
