Each school in Athens City Schools saw an increase in students participating in the free and reduced lunch program this school year. 

There are two possible explanations for this increase.

“In the school year, 2021-22, all students were able to eat all meals in the school system nationally whether or not they qualified for free and reduced benefits. This was due to USDA COVID waivers allowed by Congress,” Coordinator of Child Nutrition Tandy Blackwell said. “Starting with the school year, school districts had to return to charging for meals because the USDA COVID waivers expired on June 30, 2022. Therefore, one reason could be families were going to start paying for meals at school unless they qualified for free and a reduced rate meal charge.”

She went on to say, “another possible reason why there was an increase in free and reduced numbers was due to the Alabama pilot program that automatically qualified all Medicaid families of school-aged children.”

The number of students enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program impacts how much federal funding a school receives. 

“The number of qualified free and reduced students in a school or a district determines whether or not the school or district qualifies for certain federal programs and additional funding opportunities,” Blackwell said. “The number of free and reduced students who participates in the school nutrition program allows the school nutrition program to receive different federal funding rates based on whether the student qualifies for free, reduced, or paid status.”

Percentages change each year based on the number of students who enroll in each school/district year to year.