February 12, 2024 |
Photo – Typical school breakfast – Courtesy Google Images
Beginning today, Carbon County School District One students can receive free breakfast until the end of the school year.
Carbon County School District One Food Services Director Tami Ratcliffe said all students will have access to free breakfast thanks to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. ESSER, as it’s called, is part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, and provides nearly $122 billion in COVID relief funding to schools across the country. Ratcliffe said the free breakfast and lunch program offered during the height of the pandemic showed a need for a no-cost food program.
Ratcliffe said the new free breakfast program is open to all CCSD1 students. However, the food services director said the United States Department of Agriculture demands that students take a specific amount of food to qualify for a free breakfast.
Ratcliffe said currently, 40% of CCSD1 students have breakfast at school. The food services director said she expects an additional 10% of the student body to participate in the free breakfast program.
Ratcliffe said ESSER funding will only allow Carbon County School District One to offer free breakfasts for the remainder of the current school year.
Starting today, no student of Carbon County School District One will have to pay for a nutritious breakfast before class.
