(Update: School meals are FREE to ALL students through 2022! Read about that here or on your child’s school district website.)
I previously shared a guide to finding free meals for your kids and family in Minnesota during this time of quarantine. A major source of this food is school districts around the state and nation. We’ve been picking up this free food since shortly after it started.
The above picture shows a sampling of what my kids get from their school. I drive up and am given a paper bag with food for each child. Typically they just put it directly in my trunk, no questions asked (other than “For how many kids?”). The food is different every week, but always includes main entrees, fruits, vegetables, snacks and milk. There are also treats – today they got cookies!
The food is distributed twice a week in our district, but it’s enough to last a week. Other districts have pickup every day or at set times during the week. There are also ways to get the food dropped off near your home by bus, which some districts are offering.
A peek inside the bags we get:
When I pick up the food, I keep learning directly from the food workers why it’s so important for ALL families to pick up the food.
I also seen social media posts or conversations in mom’s groups on Facebook, encouraging families to pick up the food.
You may have been thinking “I don’t need the food for my kids – I’d rather it go to someone who needs it.”
But this is actually not how it works.
For example, the food workers at my child’s school they tell me if it doesn’t get picked up, it gets thrown away! I was shocked when I learned this. But there are other reasons to pick it up too. Here are 5 I’ve concluded from talking to school workers, reading articles, reading school district websites, and from having picked up the food for our family for the past few weeks.
NOTE: Check with your school district to confirm this information with them, as districts differ, and information is continually changing during this time.
5 Reasons to Pick Up the Free Food from Your Child’s School District
1. In many districts, the food is free to all kids 18 and under, no questions asked. Regardless of your level of need, it saves you money on food for your kids. If you don’t need it but can use it, you can donate the money you save to food shelves or other charitable organizations. Also, note that need can be financial, situational or emotional (which Lakeville school district stated – see in comments below).
2. For many districts, when the food is not picked up, the school district may receive less funding, which can lead to not being able to offer as much food, as well as employee layoffs. The food is reimbursed by the federal government on a per meal basis. The more kids they feed, the more reimbursement they get. The fewer they feed, the less they get. See details on the Minnesota Department of Education website.
Plus, even with all kids now being eligible for the free food, fewer meals may actually being served than during a typical school year, leading to potential shortfalls in the future. This article explains it well.
Also read this post from Hopkins School District: “When you order meals through the Hopkins Nutrition Department you are supporting the department. We receive reimbursement for each meal served. When you place an order for free student meals, you are helping to provide much needed financial support for the student meals program. No need to qualify. All kids under 18 are eligible.”
Here’s one from Roseville & St. Anthony schools:
“‘I want to save meals for those who really need it.’ We have heard this comment through out our Roseville Area Schools community and we want ensure you that we have enough food for all. In fact, not only do these meals support students, they support our department. Please join us at any of our stops (link below). We can’t wait to see you there!”
(However, again, check with your school district first as this differs between districts. Some have reported that their funding works differently.)
3. It can save the food from turning to waste! In some school districts, if the food isn’t picked up, it has to be thrown away! I have been told this by the food workers at my child’s school. When I drive up they ask me if I have more kids to pick up food for – they want people taking as many bags of it as they can use! They just want as many kids fed as possible so it doesn’t get tossed! (On the plus side, some districts do ask for families to order the food beforehand so they have a better count to minimize waste, and some do donate leftover food to food pantries. Thankfully, many schools have been improving how their food is distributed. However, they are only reimbursed for food they distribute to kids, so they may not be reimbursed for food used for another purpose.)
4. It’s comforting to kids to have familiar foods from their school. My kids love eating foods they would normally get at the school, and drinking milk from the little cartons they only get there as well. It’s hard enough missing normal school life – this gives them a little “taste” of it at home, and reminds them every day that the school misses them and wants to still take care of them.
5. It saves you some stress of feeding your kids, as most of the food is ready-to-eat. There are typically individual servings of cereal, milk, sandwiches, fruit, veggies, snacks and more. Kids can just grab it and eat it. It has saved me a lot of time and hassle so instead of cooking or trying to figure out what to feed them, I can focus more on helping my kids learn!
I believe there are other reasons – for example, it guarantees healthful options for your kids, and is fun for kids to drive up to their schools and see some familiar faces, if even just through their car windows!
Thank you, schools and employees, for feeding our kids!
There are many ways and places to get food for free – and your child may not need to be in the school district. (For example, if your child is homeschooled, they may still qualify. However, all districts are different – check beforehand).
However, please note I do NOT encourage anyone taking advantage of the free food. Take it only if you can use it or share it. I want school districts to provide for those who need it, but I don’t want school districts overwhelmed. Please check with your school district for details.
Note:
If your school district does not encourage pick-up of food by all, it may be because they had less than 30% free or reduced-price eligible students prior to COVID-19. Those that have had over 30% are prioritized for reimbursement, and the rest will be considered after those that are prioritized.
However, the government understands that many families are in need who may not have qualified before, and are working to expand access to the free food.
“The USDA Food and Nutrition Service recognizes that during the current public health emergency, households in areas that do not meet the criteria of poor economic conditions may be facing financial hardship. On April 3, 2020, the USDA issued a waiver to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) related to the restrictions of site eligibility requirements. This waiver allows SFSP sponsors in good standing to operate open sites in areas approved by MDE.”
https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/health/covid19/fnscovid19/index.htm
In other words, everyone SHOULD be able to access the food, but some districts are having to go through a longer process to be reimbursed, if they do choose to apply.
Read my follow up to this post –
Another Reason to Pick Up the Free Food from Your Child’s School District (Possibly the Biggest One)
Find free food in my guide, Free Meals for Kids and Families in Minnesota During Covid-19!
Need financial help during this time? Check out my guide, Coronavirus Financial Relief & Resources for Minnesota Families:
Check out my exclusive Star Tribune deal!
Did you ask multiple districts if this is true prior to posting this article? This is not true for all school districts. I asked about this in ours (Lakeville/194) and was told that they would prefer people only take them if needed. It does not impact their funding as this time is unprecedented and numbers will not be used to create budgets for next year. Every district is different so you should recommend that people check with theirs first. I wanted to participate due to the reasons you mention in your article, however after checking with the school, we decided that as nice as it would be, we would be taking advantage of a program that we don’t need and that wasn’t intended for our convenience. You are making recommendations that could actually take meals from those who need them and did consider modifying this article.
Laura – Thanks for your comment. I did check with various school districts – Roseville, Minneapolis, St Paul, Hopkins, and Mounds View, and I have been part of many discussions in mom’s groups, and the discussions mirror my post here. I looked at Lakeville’s website and Facebook page, and they state that they offer free food to all children age 18 and under, and they do not need to be enrolled in Lakeville Area Schools to receive these meals. I didn’t see anything discouraging families from seeking food for their kids. https://isd194.org/news/covid-19-information-update/. I do agree that budgets are different for different school districts, but regardless, they are required to offer food to anyone who asks for it. I definitely don’t encourage people to take advantage of the system. However, I agree people should check with their school district, especially as things are continually changing during these times.
In Michigan school districts are encouraging people to take the food.
Hello Everyone:
In Lakeville, we ask families to order their meals ahead so that we can make sure that we have enough food and avoid as much waste as possible. This helps a lot.
* It is true that districts do receive revenue for each meal that we serve during this time.
* Funds for the meals that we do serve will come through the USDA.
* It is the USDA’s intent that this program is focused on meeting the nutritional needs of children in need.
We are thankful to have an opportunity to provide meals for any child that needs them.
For us, need may be financial, situational or emotional.
Thank you for this information, Gayle!
In a time of crisis our Civic duty should be to help “Right size” these programs rather then kicking the deficit problem down the road to our kids. If you need it take it, if you don’t need it don’t take it. Capitalizing on programs that are there to help those in need is no different then corporations like the Lakers applying for the small business forgiveness free money when they are worth over 4 billion. Help the programs and our government right size these programs by not using them when you are not the target of the program!
Thank you for this valuable information for kids and families in need Frugal Mom! These meals do, in fact, receive funding provided by USDA in the form of federal reimbursement. The meals provided during the pandemic are based on the federal Summer Food Service Program which is open to all kids 18 and under. No doubt, some school districts are struggling in these unprecedented times but making sure our kids have nutritious meals is critical and they have stepped up in a big way. Please continue to encourage participation and support kids that would otherwise go hungry. Many sites also provide free meals packs for families. These are provided by food banks, The Sheridan Story and others.
Thanks for your comment, Ellie!
Thank you for your response. And I should clarify that they DO receive federal funding for these meals, but participation now, during this unprecedented time does not impact their budget or funding for next year. I agree that anyone and everyone who needs meals should take advantage of this, that is it’s purpose. However, in a lot of cases, we are not HELPING the district by participating, which is the idea that I am not in agreement with here. In our district there is also no more food waste than normal, so this is not necessarily something we are helping them with either. Here is the information I received directly from our district when I emailed and asked these questions.
”We encourage families that feel they need meals for their families to use this option. We receive a set reimbursement for each meal served. There is some Cost Accounting that happens here, if we serve 500 meals with 18 people in labor costs, the per meal cost is higher to us and might not be covered by the reimbursement. However if we are feeding 1900 (as we did today) the labor cost per meal is lower. But there is also a tipping point where 18 people cannot prepare the amount of meals requested and we’d have to have more labor to cover it. Our budget next year is not really dictated by this unusual event happening now. We may not be able to buy a new piece of equipment next year as our fund balance will be greatly reduced by this event., but in general our equipment needs are few.
We have been using the food we already had in the district, and yes some of the food that is in the freezer will have to wait until the children come back. We have no more excess than we normally would, as we have been doing menus that will use up what we have and order only what we feel we will need for the menus we are serving.
So, truly, we are trying to target those families that are struggling to feed their children. We do anticipate that as this continues, our numbers will grow with more families struggling to finance everything in their lives while on furlough or worse, losing their jobs.”
Thank you!
This is good you are making more families aware. However, it’s a disservice to speak for all districts as to qualifying. Our district require the students 18 and under to LIVE IN our city, even if they go to school elsewhere. Maybe make it clear, upfront in your article, which districts you have actually confirmed the guidelines with. The amount they make is based off that number.
Thanks, Laurie! I’ve updated the post.
Do you know if any of these sites have gluten free options!
Thank you
I know that many do – check with your school districts!
When the food is not picked up, the school district can lose the funding, which can lead to not being able to offer as much food, as well as employee layoffs. The food is reimbursed by the government on a per meal basis. The more people they feed, the more funding they get. The fewer they feed, the less funding they get. Plus, even with everyone now being eligible for the free food, fewer meals are actually being served than during a typical school year, leading to potential shortfalls in the future.
this may be true in a school district where the number of families in poverty is low or none. In school districts that are more families in poverty level, then the concept of funding applies. please see: https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf
funding is figured out for the SCHOOL YEAR in October. so funding for 2020-2021’s school year will be figured out and monies given to the schools in October of 2020. AGAIN this FUNDING is based on the population of the school’s poor. THOSE that receive free or reduced lunches. if your school does not have that money families – your school will not receive the funding.
YES the food is pulled out in the morning. And yes if it does not leave the building that day it will be thrown out. This is the same as with in the school year. So maybe it truly only should be for the families that are in need.
here are more incentives offered to schools:
MINNESOTA
HF 55 would require participants in the National School Lunch Program to adopt an unpaid meals policy and
provide meals in a respectful manner.
Introduced, referred to the House Education Policy Committee. 1/14/2019
15
HF 811 would create a state program administered by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to encourage
farm-to-school sales of certain foods. The program would reimburse participating public and private schools,
school districts, and child care centers for a portion of their costs to acquire Minnesota grown unprocessed or
minimally-processed foods, as defined.
Introduced, referred to the House Agriculture & Food Finance & Policy Division. 2/7/2019
HF 1037 would provide incentives for school districts to offer breakfast for all students in a flexible manner once
the school day has started and denotes these meals as “Breakfast after the Bell.”
Introduced, referred to the House Education Finance Division. 2/11/2019
SF 411 would require participants in the National School Lunch Program to adopt an unpaid meals policy and
provide meals in a respectful manner.
Introduced, referred to the Senate E-12 Finance & Policy Committee. 1/24/2019
SF 1346 would create a state program administered by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to
encourage farm-to-school sales of certain foods. The program would reimburse participating public and private
schools, school districts, and child care centers for a portion of their costs to acquire Minnesota grown unprocessed
or minimally-processed foods, as defined.
Reported favorably from Senate Agriculture, Rural Development & Housing Policy Committee, referred to the
Agriculture, Rural Development & Housing Finance Committee. 3/4/2019
SF 1427 would provide incentives for school districts to offer breakfast for all students in a flexible manner once
the school day has started and denotes these meals as “Breakfast after the Bell.”
Introduced, referred to the Senate E-12 Finance & Policy Committee. 2/18/2019
Now having if your school district is saying that and other school districts are saying that to you, that they will not have funding for next year….i would like to know where their money or information is coming from. Can you please send me the information? because I would like to know how that school district is spending their money. Because it seems that we need to re think our people that are running our programs.
School meals are funded by the federal government, but some costs are covered at the local level and yes, needs differ by district. However, since a significant number of people are now eligible for food assistance who weren’t before, all due to Covid-19, many changes are being made, and will continue to be made. The Minnesota Department of Education details reimbursement on their website: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/health/covid19/fnscovid19/index.htm
Do you know I’d the funding that benefits the school applied during the school year in a normal environment? I usually send lunch from home, but if the same rule applies I might just have my kids get school lunch from now on!