There is such a thing as a free lunch… at school in Aberdeen and Sioux Falls! The Aberdeen school district announced last week that all students can get school lunch and breakfast for free for the rest of the calendar year. Even the kids studying online at home can order meals and send mom or dad to pick them up.
Sioux Falls is using the same break from the USDA to make school meals free all semester, with refunds to all paying customers for meals purchased in the first several weeks of the school year:
The Sioux Falls Public Schools just received word that it has been accepted into a program by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that allows ALL students in the District to receive meals at no cost to them. Both breakfast and lunch will be provided free with no income guidelines. This program is retroactively in effect from September 1, 2020 and carries through December 31, 2020 or until the funding runs out.
Any meal purchased since the beginning of September will be credited back and funds placed in accounts for future use. Only breakfast and lunch meals are free. Any second milk, second meal or a la carte items will NOT be free. Students must have funds in accounts to purchase these items.
…My School Bucks, the online meal payment system, will be disabled on October 7, 2020 until the program ceases operation. My School Bucks is not able to refund deposits. Refunds must be requested by calling our office, however, any balance can be held in the account for use when the program ends [Sioux Falls school district, message to parents, quoted on KELO Radio, 2020.10.05].
So sure, take Donald Trump’s advice and don’t be afraid of coronavirus: look at it as an opportunity to feed your kids for free!
But do be afraid of the slow and inept Trump Administration: the USDA announced its extension of its summer meals program back on August 31, after many schools had already reopened. The USDA failed to provide clear guidance to the states on the extension, leaving school districts unsure how to proceed.
Any other state schools receiving this socialistic largess from the Trump administration?
If you go to Google News or any other news aggregator and type in “hunger in the US,” you’ll find that this is a big story in the media, but it does not register through all the noise about the pandemic and Trump. Staff members in our schools confront the hunger problem in children every day, and the Sioux Falls and Aberdeen school boards seem to be paying attention. This free lunch measure is a major step in addressing a shameful situation in our country. If we aren’t careful, we might save a few young lives, much to the consternation of those citizens who aspire to be gas oven attendants.
Watertown is offering free meals until the end of the year. I believe that cut off is when the funding is set to run out.
Te SFSD was wise to apply early Sept time frame and gained approval. Unfortunately the RCAS just woke up and applied YESTERDAY!
How do all these socialist” programs sneak by wingnut screw tinny?
Raygun is turning over in hyis grave and it is not from wildfires.
Just applied yesterday, DS? Darn! I hope Rapid City parents can get a refund on meals.
Making sure every child in school has enough to eat is a good investment in good educational outcomes. Let’s just build this program into the permanent budget.
George McGovern advocated for free school lunch for all.
Hot Springs Schools will go to online classes starting today for the rest of the week due to the trump virus. Where da GNOem?
George McGovern had the right idea; why does it take a crisis for us to adopt sensible ideas?
Noem will be giving peanuts to education from all that money the leg gave her yesterday. And probably none to expanding Medicaid to aid the poorer that can’t jet-set all over the US for Covid Trump’s campaign. But, many millions will be given in ‘relief of covid’ to business, Watch and see.
Does business not exist because of and for the people? Giving ‘forgiveness loans’ to businesses of $15000 is like giving $8000 or better to the owners, right? Giving $1200 to individuals is giving $1200 to business anyway, as they bwill spend it on the economy!
Remember, Jake, Noem isn’t giving anything to the schools. Whatever aid they are receiving, whether it’s this welcome extension of free lunches for kids or their meager slice of the CARES Act dollars, all comes from the federal government. Governor Noem has not made a hard budget decision yet this year with respect to how to help people survive the pandemic and weather the economic storm.
You are right, Cory. Noem has been so used to ‘farming the government’ by tilling the soil in tune to the farm programs she doesn’t seem to realize that this money she’s doling out isn’t coming from the Feds is from taxes paid by liberals and conservative taxpayers that paid their taxes. Not from guys like her idol Trump that paid $750 and led us to believe he had paid millions!!
Way to go Aberdeen, Rapid City and Sx Falls!
I took care of miceownself today, a mental health day away from Republican red white and blue bullsheit “elect me!” billboards that pollute Paha Sapa, and went for a late season swim at Pactola. Brisk, bracing, to say the least. (Wet suit advised) Golden sunshine, rippled calm depths.