The Lewis County School District will be offering free breakfast and lunch for all students beginning in August.
According to Food Nutrition Director Mike Eddington, the new program has been in talks for a few years, but it was not until the current school year that the program was able to be implemented.
"We've talked about it on and off. It's something we have wanted to do, but in order to do it, you have to have a certain percentage of students who qualify,” said Eddington.
Eddington said this school year, at least 40 percent of students in each of the schools qualified for free lunch.
"We were going to have to raise the lunch prices for students who did not qualify for free lunch. With that many students qualifying, we thought it would be a smart move to implement this new program. We will get a reimbursement from the federal government still, just as we always have, but the students will not have to pay,” added Eddington.
The only exception to the program is a la cart items, according to Eddington. If students would like extra items, they will have to pay for them.
Adults will also be required to continue to pay for their food.
"This is a program the county needs. We want to take care of our students and this will help us do that. I'm very happy to see that we will be able to feed all of our students without them having to pay for it,” added Eddington.
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