Birmingham’s city school system announced this week that students enrolled in any of its 43 schools are now eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch “regardless of income status.”
The money is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the program doesn’t require applications to determine eligibility. Any student can take advantage of the free meals, no questions asked, even those from middle-income families.
Why is the government doing this? “It will reduce paperwork for families and schools,” according to the Washington Post, “But it will also help reduce the stigma that some children feel about eating in a government-funded program at school.”
— The program, called the Community Eligibility Provision, is “designed to improve access to free school meals in high poverty areas while reducing the administrative burden of collecting household applications,” according to a news release from the school system.
— Participating districts receive reimbursements for the meals, which are calculated based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs.
— Birmingham’s school system is making a “concerted effort to inform parents, students and the community at large” of the program, according to the release.
Jeremy Beaman is a Huntsville-native in his final year at the University of Mobile. He spent the summer of 2017 with the Washington Examiner and writes for The College Fix.
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