Greenfield Intermediate School was the site of free school lunches this summer, and all local schools had offered free meals for two years. A federal waiver is no longer available for the new school year so schools will begin charging for meals again.
Daily Reporter file photo
GREENFIELD – Local families will be required once again to pay for school breakfast and lunch in the upcoming school year, or file an application to receive a free or a reduced meals.
Meals had been free for the last two school years. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, school corporations across the country had been operating with the use of a federal waiver that allowed them to feed every child for free.
The waiver is not available for the upcoming school year and corporations will return to the traditional eligibility requirements for free, reduced and paid meals. That means for 2022-23, schools will charge students for both breakfast and lunch.
Here’s a look at where parents can go to learn more or to apply for free or reduced lunches:
-Greenfield-Central’s school lunches range from $2.95 for grades K-6 to $3.05 for grades 7-12; breakfast is $1.85 for all students. Milk is an additional 50 cents. Payments are made through ezmealapp.com, and additional information on assistance applications can be found at facebook.com by searching Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation.
-Southern Hancock charges $1.85 for all student breakfasts; $3.05 for elementary and intermediate lunch; and $3.20 for junior high and high school lunch. The applications for free and reduced meals can be found under the “Parents” tab at www.corp.newpal.k12.in.us.
-Eastern Hancock schools charge $2.20 for elementary breakfast and $2.30 for middle and high school breakfast. Lunch is $3.05 for elementary students and $3.15 for middle school and high school students; milk is an additional 50 cents. Applications for free and reduced meals are made at the time of online registration, which opens July 20.
-Mt. Vernon charges $2.25 for breakfast for students; lunch is $3.40 for preschool and elementary students and $3.50 for middle school and high school students, with milk an additional 50 cents. The application for free or reduced meals can be found through Skyward Family Access in the Food Service tab in the “Parents” section at www.mvcsc.k12.in.us. Students eligible for free or reduced lunch assistance may also qualify for textbook rental fee assistance. Watch for rental assistance options in the online application.
