Across Virginia, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. Unfortunately, in Virginia, as many as 1 in 7 children are facing food insecurity. For these students, a healthy meal is the most important school supply – as important to their learning as a new notebook and pencils. With the high costs of food, fuel, and other essentials, many hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet. School meals programs help take some of the burden off of these families, making sure kids are able to access nutritious meals every day.
Why School Meals Matter
School meals are a healthy, convenient, and inclusive way to ensure students have the nutrition they need to thrive in the classroom and beyond.
- Healthy: School meals conform to nutritional guidelines, making sure that kids are getting the fruits, veggies, and proteins they need to grow and be healthy. In fact, research shows that for many children, the meals they eat at school are the most nutritionally balanced meals they get all day.
- Convenient: School meals can save busy parents the work of having to prepare breakfast and lunch each morning.
- Inclusive: School meals help create a sense of community, as students have time to bond with each other and hone skills like sharing and communication. In over 1,000 schools in Virginia, meals are available to ALL children, regardless of income.
School Meal Applications and CEP
Many school divisions in Virginia participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows eligible schools to provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students, without families paying a fee or submitting an application.
However, CEP is not an option everywhere. Virginia has roughly 40 school divisions that have no CEP opportunities, or CEP opportunities at a limited number of schools. In these divisions, families at certain schools may need to submit an application form to determine the cost of meals.
If you are a parent or caregiver living in one of these divisions, make sure your back-to-school checklist includes applying for free school meals.
You should fill out your school division’s form even if you’re not sure whether you qualify for free meals. School meals applications may qualify families for additional benefits, like discounted exam fees and college applications, extracurriculars, scholarship opportunities, and even home wifi. They can also help your child’s school secure additional classroom resources that will support all students’ education.
If you have school aged children, be sure to fill out an application for free or reduced price meals this school year! Spread the word, too, and encourage your friends and family to contact their children’s school to learn more. Do you work at a school division and want to spread the word about school meals? Check out our marketing toolkit for social media captions and graphics.
Conclusion
No Kid Hungry Virginia is working to ensure every child in Virginia can access the healthy school meals they need to grow up healthy and strong. We do this through providing grants to launch and improve school meals programs; advocating for policies that connect kids with nutrition; building awareness about the impacts of childhood hunger; and offering tools, resources, and training to help build and maintain successful school meals programs. Looking for assistance? Reach out to Sarah Steely, No Kid Hungry Virginia Director, at ssteely@strength.org.