Wednesday, April 8, 2026 |
Photo – Carbon County School District #2 – Bigfoot99 file photo
Due to statewide changes to school budget rules, all Carbon County School District Two students will be required to pay for meals next year.
For the past two years, Carbon County School District Two students in Encampment, Hanna, and Medicine Bow received free meals through the federal Community Eligibility Provision. Established in 2010 by the Obama administration, the Community Eligibility Provision allows high-poverty schools and districts to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students. Saratoga schools did not qualify for the free meal program because too few families in the community receive government benefits.
Speaking at Monday evening’s District Accountability Committee meeting in Hanna, District Two Superintendent Darrin Jennings announced that the Community Eligibility Provision failed to cover the district’s meal costs. As food prices continue to climb, Superintendent Jennings said the district will be leaving the federal meal program next school year.
The Wyoming Legislature recently passed Senate File 81, the School Finance Recalibration Bill, which prohibits schools from using instructional funds to pay for meals. Superintendent Jennings called the combination of leaving the Community Eligibility Provision and the passage of Senate File 81 a “perfect storm,” as of now, all District Two students will be required to pay for their breakfasts and lunches.
Even with the Community Eligibility Provision, Superintendent Jennings said District Two spent $443,000 on meals last school year. To address the shortfall and the inability to allocate additional funding for meals, Jennings proposed new breakfast and lunch prices that would take effect next school year.
Kindergarten through sixth‑grade students will pay $2.50 for breakfast and $3.00 for lunch. High school students will pay $3.00 for breakfast and $4.00 for lunch. Those eligible for free or reduced meals will still pay $1.00. Jennings added that no child will be denied a meal because of their family’s inability to pay.
Superintendent Jennings said the district can use so‑called angel funds, in which donors contribute money to help students pay for meals, equipment, and activities, to cover lunch costs for students from low‑income families. Jennings said District Two Technology Integration Specialist Andrew Hays recommended splitting donations between individual schools and the district as a whole.
H‑E‑M Principal Eli Hobbs added that a combined angel fund will give the district more leverage when making large food purchases. Superintendent Jennings also said the district’s food budget can be supplemented by donations of livestock from ranchers. The district would pay to have the meat processed at a certified USDA facility.
Leaving the federal Community Eligibility Provision would allow individual schools to set their own menus. Hanna Elementary School Principal Jackie Jones said she plans to replace commercially prepared foods with fresh ingredients.
The Hanna Elementary School cook staff celebrated the potential end of the district’s participation in the Community Eligibility Provision. Without the strict federal guidelines, staff can prepare meals the students genuinely enjoy.
Superintendent Jennings said the district’s kitchen staff are researching meal programs outside of the Community Eligibility Provision. The goal is to serve healthy meals students will actually eat.
Superintendent Jennings says you can judge the success of a lunch program by how much food students throw away. By moving away from the Community Eligibility Provision, District Two will have more flexibility over menus and serving sizes.
The cost of next school year’s breakfasts and lunches has not been finalized. Prices mentioned in this story may change as district officials gather more information.
