For Immediate Release:
As Louisiana Kids Head Back to School This Fall, New Law Makes More Eligible for Free School Meals
No Kid Hungry Louisiana Encourages Families to Apply for Free School Meals
Date: SEPT 6, 2023
Contact: Johanna Elsemore at jelsemore@strength.org
New Orleans, LA: As Louisiana students return to the classroom, No Kid Hungry Louisiana is encouraging parents and caregivers to add an important task to their back-to-school checklists: Applying for free school meals.
Thanks to a new law that goes into effect this school year, students previously eligible for reduced price meals can now receive breakfast and lunch at no cost to them. That’s why it’s especially important this year that families fill out meal application forms. On September 6, Governor John Bel Edwards joined No Kid Hungry Louisiana and students and teachers at Lincoln Elementary School in New Orleans for a bill signing ceremony for Act 305, bipartisan legislation that will provide nearly $860,000 each year to cover the cost of reduced-price students. The funding will make nearly 14,000 more students eligible for free school meals, totaling 440,000 more meals for Louisiana kids.
Under federal rules, students with a family income between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level must still pay up to $.40 each for breakfast and lunch. Now all students with incomes at or below 185% of the federal poverty level can eat at no cost.
“Eliminating this expense removes a barrier to children getting three nutritious meals a day, while helping hardworking families stretch their food budget and cover things like school supplies, new shoes for growing kids or filling their gas tank to get to and from work,” said No Kid Hungry Louisiana Director Rhonda Jackson. “It’s important to submit your school meals application, even if you aren’t sure if you qualify.”
Filling out a free form may help families qualify for additional benefits to include discounted exam fees and college applications, extracurricular and scholarship opportunities. School Meals are available to all children regardless of immigration status. Applying for school meals will have no immigration consequences for those who apply or their families.
###
About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.