SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (WTVF) — There's a lot of work to do before hundreds of hungry students have lunch in the cafeteria at Crestview Elementary School in Springfield.
This Tuesday, the cafeteria staff is serving chicken drumsticks with a sweet chili ramen bowl, yogurt parfait, sweet glazed carrots or fruit, and milk.
Lunch will fuel them for the rest of the school day, and truth be told, maybe into the night.
"We have students in Robertson County, and we have students across the state that we know for a fact, other than the two meals they get during the school day, breakfast, and lunch, they may not eat until they come back and eat breakfast the following morning," said Patsi Gregory, school nutrition supervisor at Robertson County Schools.
Patsi Gregory oversees her school district's high-quality school nutrition program.
More and more, their school year is ending with unpaid meal debt from families who fall just short of qualifying for the federally funded free school meals program.
"At the end of the year, schools cannot pay that debt. So, at the end of the year, it's going to be taken out of the school's academic budget," Gregory said.
According to the Tennessee Department of Education, all children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Families First can get free meals regardless of their income. Also, children can receive free or reduced price meals if a household’s gross income is within the free limits on the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines.
This legislative session — a bill with bipartisan support — aims to expand free school meals in Tennessee. Here's what HB 1153/SB0740 proposes: Once federal funding runs out, the state would step in to cover the cost, reimbursing local school districts for providing free breakfast and lunch to students who qualify for reduced-price meals.
It's not a huge population. For example, of the 11,500 students in Robertson County, 5% qualify for reduced benefits.
"What the legislators would do would be investing in families. When those families don't have to give us those funds, then they can go to Walmart, buy more things, they can pay sales tax that goes to the state. It's a phenomenal cycle," Gregory said.
Based on data from the 2023-24 school year, the total cost to reimburse each local education agency for providing free breakfast and lunch to students eligible for reduced-price meals, after all available federal funds have been applied, is $1.9 million. From FY19-20 through FY23-24, USDA reimbursement rates have averaged a 5.3% annual increase. As a result, it is projected that the USDA reimbursement in FY23-24 will increase by 5.3%, bringing the estimated cost for FY25-26 to $2.2 million.
If the House Education Committee approves it, this idea could be debated by the full legislature. The House Education Committee meets next on Wednesday, April 2 at 9:30 a.m.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
