A federal waiver allowing all Pennsylvania K-12 students access to free school breakfast and lunch could be coming to an end.

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, students have been able to receive the free meals regardless of their family’s income level, but Congress has yet to take action on a waiver extension.

“I believe the free lunch program should be made permanent across the country,” Ed Rarick, Lehighton Area School District business manager, said. “There are many students in our own district as well across the state that don’t have access to good nutrition programs. The change during COVID-19 to the free breakfast, lunch and after-school meals has provided many students with a more balanced diet, access to meals they might not have had previously as well allows students to focus on school and not worry about going hungry.”

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, of the 1.7 million K-12 students in the state in 2018-19, nearly 900,000, or 52%, qualified for a free lunch. Students qualified for free lunch if their families earned at or below 130% of the federal poverty line.

A group of U.S. senators proposed a bill, dubbed the Support Kids Not Red Tape Act, in late March that would extend the waiver from June 30, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023.

“For many families across Pennsylvania, access to school meals is vital to prevent children from going hungry,” Sen. Bob Casey said. “Ensuring all kids across the country have reliable access to nutritious meals is one of the most important things we can do to invest in the future of our nation’s leaders and workers - when children have a healthy start in life, they are better able to learn and grow.”

Two states, California and Maine, have already passed legislation and included money in their budgets to pay the difference between the federal reimbursements the state gets for free meals and the cost of school meals.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf has urged Congress and the Senate to take action on the waiver.

“I’ve done everything in my power to ensure children access to a high-quality education, but you cannot feed a hungry mind on an empty stomach,” Wolf said. “This waiver authority is critical to ensuring access to food for millions of kids and simultaneously supporting our nation’s food and agriculture industry.”

Joanne Snyder, a Jim Thorpe parent, said free school meals are one of the few positive things to have come out of the past two years.

“It’s less stress for sure knowing that kids are fed no matter what,” Snyder said. “There are a lot of things going on when you’re trying to get a family out the door in the morning, and this is one less thing to worry about.”

In addition to all students being able to receive free meals, school districts received a higher rate of reimbursement from the federal government.

The higher rate is normally reserved for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program. By law, the summer rates adjust for inflation annually in January.

At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, the lunch reimbursement rate for participating schools was already 15% higher than the standard reimbursement for a free lunch, the USDA press office said in a release. “Now, because of higher food costs and other circumstances, schools are receiving an additional 25 cents per lunch. Taken together, schools are receiving 22% more for school lunches than they would under normal conditions.”

Rarick said ending the waiver will have a negative impact on school district food service financials.

“The district will no longer receive the improved rate of reimbursement, as well shift back responsibility to buy lunches to students and families that are already facing difficult inflationary pricing at the grocery stores in their personal lives,” he said. “Elimination of current reimbursement rates will shift the burden back to local taxpayers.”

The move to extend the waiver has also gained support from the School Nutrition Organization.

“We all want to put the pandemic behind us, but what school meal programs face is nowhere close to normal,” said SNA President Beth Wallace. “We desperately need these waivers to manage unyielding supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, cover rapidly escalating costs and remain viable to support our communities.”