Fluvanna schools began serving free breakfast and lunch for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic having ended years ago, Fluvanna County Public Schools don’t seem to be stopping this benefit anytime soon.
According to FCHS Cafeteria Manager Sheri Casero, all U.S. schools began providing free meals to students during the pandemic to reduce food insufficiency and insecurity among students that arose due to job layoffs and increased consumer food costs. Even after the crisis ran its course, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) continued this free meal policy. The CEP is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas which allows schools to serve both breakfast and lunch at no cost, eliminating the need for individual meal applications, reducing the stigma associated with free meals, and simplifying meal service operations.
Casero said this service option ultimately works to improve access to nutritious food for students of low-income families, noting that the FCPS Nutrition Program is governed specifically by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This means cafeteria staff receive federal reimbursements for every meal served at the schools. The reimbursements are based on the yearly specified claim rate–the amount of money the federal government provides states for lunches, snacks, and breakfasts served to students.
FCHS administration is highly encouraging students to take advantage of the opportunity to grab a free meal, mentioning it repeatedly over morning announcements, and advertising it on posters and whiteboards by the lunch lines. Casero wants to make students aware of what they are serving for breakfast and lunch in hopes that at least a thousand students will purchase lunch daily. Currently, however, only 700-750 are utilizing the free service.
Cafeteria staff even created a new “Grab n Go” line where students can quickly grab a snack or main entrée in a pinch. “Anything left over is used or saved. With our new Grab n Go line, we can carry over many of the entrees,” said Casero.
Casero added, “I would really hate to not see every child in Fluvanna have free breakfast or lunch. My staff and myself work very hard to make sure we have good food and options for everyone. A lot of time and planning goes into a day. I appreciate all the support the students at the High School give us. If I wasn’t dedicated to Food Service and the Fluvanna County students, I would not be here for the last 27 years.”
Students can view the food offerings for school days at this link.