Hunger doesn't end with school

SANDUSKY — For many children, a huge portion of meals comes from school-provided breakfast and lunches. Government-funded summer lunch waivers allowed schools to feed children throughout summer, but those are expiring this month. School districts across the county have programs in place to feed children over the summer, but Congress voted against renewing the United States Department of Agriculture's summer lunch program. The USDA's Seamless Summer Option for free lunches to children 18 and under expires June 30 and schools have to find new ways to provide food to students in need. According to the USDA, children from families must be at or below 130% of the federal poverty level to qualify for free meals. For reduced-price meals, families must be between 130% to 185% of the federal poverty level. Because the lunch waivers originated during pandemic times, they allowed parents to pick up lunches and didn't require children to be present. These waivers covered the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. Due to the non-renewal, school summer lunch programs are either ceasing to exist or have had to change their regulations — one example of that being children are required to eat the meals at a distribution site. Families must pre-register after July 1 with their school district. Children were previously permitted to take meals home with them but are now required to eat at the distribution site. Parents and guardians are also no longer allowed to pick up the lunches for the children. These changes present a new set of complications, one local superintendent said. "My never-ending concern is that children in the community will not receive meals due to a variety of barriers, including homelessness or having no means of transportation to the schools," Sandusky Schools superintendent Eugene Sanders said. "It feels like we are taking a step back in an effort to feed children in our community who need it the most." Here's a breakdown of how some schools and community organizations handle summer school lunch programs: The Sandusky Library This summer, the library is offering a "snack" Monday through Friday from noon until 12:45 p.m. The snacks are provided free of charge through the partnership and are full-size meals. Available to anyone under the age of 18, these "snacks" contain shelf stable items from each food group. Children are required to eat the snack at the library but can be shared between students who are still hungry after their own snack. Because the snacks are shelf stable, there is no need to worry about keeping items hot or cold and makes it easier to be available every day. "With the non-renewal of the Seamless Summer waiver, we highly recommend anyone 18 or under to utilize our program," said Emily Kimball, the children's services manager at the Sandusky Library. Sandusky Schools Sandusky is offering breakfast and lunch to all students in the district, but they will be restricted to distributing food at three of the district's schools. Sandusky Schools' food programs will be at the Sandusky Primary on Ontario Street, the Intermediate School on Hayes Avenue and the Regional Center for Arts and Academic Studies on East Adams Street. According to superintendent Eugene Sanders, between 750-800 students were fed last year. Community partners, organizations and families passed the food out. Parents were able to pick up food without their children being present. This summer, about 200-250 students will be served. Due to the restrictions in place, students will have to be present and eat the meal on-site. The restrictions limit how many students are served and the ability to serve these students. These restrictions come from pre-pandemic regulations by the USDA. "If COVID-19 showed us anything, it showed that food insecurities are affecting our community greatly. We have a large number of children within our community that need breakfast and lunch throughout the summer," Sanders said. "I encourage all families to utilize the summer feeding program to the best of their ability and to reach our to our district if they need additional support." Margaretta Schools According to the Margaretta School District superintendent Ed Kurt, 150-175 families are served through an collaboration between the district and Sandusky-based nonprofit OHgo. An OHgo food pantry drive happens on the first Saturday of each month at the elementary school. About 90 students in kindergarten through fifth-grade and involved in the Summer Reading program are supplied breakfast and lunch through the end of July. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 39-41% of students were receiving free or reduced breakfast and lunch through the school. It dropped to 20% when all students were getting free lunches. Huron Schools Huron Schools interim superintendent Julie McDonald said the district doesn't participate in the summer food programs, but the district will share when the nonprofit food bank Second Harvest hosts food drives at BGSU Firelands and offers other resources. Perkins Schools Perkins doesn't have a distribution program for the summer. But Perkins students can get lunches every day at the Sandusky Library through an Ohio Department of Education sponsored program, "Kids Eat Free." According to Jeffrey Stacklin, school district spokesman, all children 1 through 18 are eligible to receive free meals during the summer months through "Kids Eat Free." Individuals 19 through 21 who have been identified as having a mental or physical disability and are following Individualized Education Programs — commonly known as IEPs — through their current enrollment in educational programs are also eligible. Families must apply after July 1 for students to be enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program offered by Perkins and is based on family income, Stacklin said. Over the last two years during COVID, regardless of income, all students have been provided free breakfast and lunches each day. "It is our understanding that the program, unfortunately, will not continue into the 2022-23 school year," Stacklin said. Vermilion Schools Vermilion is not offering a summer food program this year due to the low participation they had last year. During the school year, less than 35% of district students use the free or reduced lunches program. During last year's summer lunch program, only 25 families signed up. But the administrative assistant for the schools, Cindy Akers, said district students can get fed during summer another way. "Vermilion students are offered a full day of educational and recreational programming, with breakfast and lunch included," through the Vermilion Boys and Girls Club, Akers said. Families who need assistance are also able to participate in this program if needed, she said. Townsend Community School During the school year, the superintendent of Townsend Community School, Ryan Bohn, said they are a part of the free lunch program. The school was capable of providing free breakfast and lunch to all students in grades 9-12 — approximately 500 students — through the Seamless Summer Option. However, the community school does not offer a meal program in the summer. They are in the process of partnering with OHgo to add a school pantry, which will pilot this summer before continuing a full implementation during the school year. The pantry not only provides food items, but also hygiene products that students will have access to take home with them. Townsend Community School has 68.5% of students identifying as "economically disadvantaged," according to Bohn. "Proper nutrition for all students is essential. For some students, the meals that they eat at school are the most nutritious meals that they will eat throughout the entire week," Bohn said. Townsend plans to participate in what's called "Provision 2," of the free lunch program, which would allow them to provide meals for all students, he said. Edison Schools Edison is not eligible to run summer food programs through the USDA, and the waivers for their programs ended on June 2, the last day of their school year. In order for a school to operate a USDA summer lunch program, the district must meet an area eligibility criteria showing a need and have a 50% or higher population on free or reduced lunches. The district operates with 27% of students on the free or reduced lunch program, making them ineligible for the program. When the district was operating its lunch program, it provided a pick up and delivery program that fed families breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Superintendent Tom Roth says it's important for families to enroll in the program starting July 1 for the 2022-23 school year. Roth fears families might not be able to start paying for lunches again right away and are still recovering from the pandemic's aftereffects. He also said families relied heavily on school meal packs for their children's primary nutrition. "We truly hope that USDA and our politicians will put our students first," Roth said. Ohio P-EBT Program While the USDA's Summer Seamless Option is discontinuing, Ohio has been approved for the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program for the summer of this year. The P-EBT program will provide families with $390.50 split evenly over two months. Payments will come at the end of June and the end of July. To be eligible, preschool through 12th grade students must be enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program or attend a school where every student gets free meals through the Community Eligibility Option. Children under six must be participating in a SNAP or food assistance program and not attend a school that operates the National School Lunch Program. To participate, applications must be submitted by July 31 to receive the funds by the end of September. According to the Children's Hunger Alliance, over 700,000 — or 1 in 4 — children in Ohio struggle with hunger. Summer introduces a challenging time when children don't have access to school meals. The Children's Hunger Association provides a summer meal site list on their website — childrenshungeralliance.org — and gives the option to donate to help feed children.