Arkansas Secretary of Education Johnny Key announced the extension of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) waivers allowing students in the state to receive free meals at public schools until the end of the calendar year.The announcement came during Wednesday’s update on COVID-19 conducted by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.”The waivers allow our school districts to serve meals to all students at no cost,” Key says. “They permit meals to be served outside of the normally required group settings and meal times, and they are also waving meal patterns as necessary and will allow parents and guardians to pick up meals for their children.”
Key adds the state has opted into the waivers and will work with districts that operate under the flexibilities.
Mountain Home Superintendent Dr. Jake Long says the waivers are a continuation of the “Seamless Summer Feeding Program” from the USDA.
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Key says meal applications should still be completed, due to their connection to other state and federal funding streams. Long also discusses the need to fill out forms.
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No child will be denied meals due to a form not being completed, according to Long, who says the forms are only for future reference. Anyone who has not filled out the federal school lunch form may visit the school’s website at mhbombers.com to find the forms and even complete them online.
There has been no official guidance provided on whether school meals served up to this point will be covered under the program, but Long says he anticipates the meals to be covered.
Long says he feels the move will be beneficial to all school districts and their students across the state.
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For questions on school means, contact the nutritional services office at 870-425-1225.
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