The federal government funded free school meals for all students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Congress recently decided not to renew funding for this program, meaning that families will have to again pay for lunches with the start of the 2022-2023 school year.

“We had families tell us the free school meals were beneficial for their family during the pandemic,” said Jennifer Lane, director of communications and community relations for Fort Dodge Community School District. “Several mentioned their income was down due to closures or working fewer hours, so this extra support was appreciated by them.”

Free and reduced meal fees will be available for students when the 2022-2023 school year begins in August. Families in all area districts are encouraged to complete the application, if they believe that they qualify. A new application must be completed every school year, which means that some families who may not have qualified in the past may qualify in the next school year.

“It’s important to families because they will receive free or reduced rates for all school meals,” said Brian Johnson, superintendent at Southeast Valley School District. “Secondly, these families will also be eligible for some free and reduced school fees, including driver’s education.”

Federal funding for schools is also based heavily on each district’s free and reduced percentage.

“It’s important because it not only determines eligibility for free and reduced school meals, but also for fee waivers for the P-EBT program, and also helps determine federal funding and Title 1 services for our students,” added Lane. “Anyone who thinks they might be eligible should apply.”

Qualifications for federal free and reduced meals are based on household size and either annual, monthly, or weekly family income.

Applications for free and reduced meals will be available on all area school districts’ websites beginning July 1. Applications will also be available during the new school year’s registration process. For consideration, all applications must be submitted to school districts within 30 days of the new school year beginning.