Schools expand meal program amid $1M gap

DANBURY — Facing a $1 million revenue gap, the school district is increasing its efforts to get free meals to students.

Fewer students have been eating school lunch and breakfast because the district had been on distance learning since March, although meals are free to all students regardless of income during this time.

The lower participation is a problem because the federal government reimburses districts based on the number of meals they distribute. Compared to this time last year, the district has received $1 million less, said Courtney LeBorious, the business operations director.

“It’s not unlike other districts that are experiencing this,” she said at a recent school board meeting. “It’s just that because Danbury has been a hot spot and we’ve been remote for so long, it’s a little bit exacerbated.”

However, Danbury’s shortfall is not as severe as New Haven’s, which was also on distance learning until opening some schools last week.

Before reopening, New Haven projected a $4 million deficit in its meal program by the end of the fiscal year if families participated at the same rate. But more than 4,000 meals were served on the first day back. If that rate continues, the shortfall could drop to $2 million, school officials have said.

Danbury officials look forward to something similar.

“Kids are back in school, so they’ll be eating their regular meals, so our hope is that we’re able to close that gap,” LeBorious said.

Administrators have worked with Sodexo, the food service company, to make it easier for families to get meals, LeBorious said. This includes sending meals on buses to families, which helped drive up participation in December, she said.

The plan is to ship a week’s worth of shelf-stable food on buses on Wednesdays, when the entire district is on distance learning under the hybrid model, she said. Information about how to sign up will be sent to families.

Another site will soon open from 4 to 6 p.m., LeBorious said. The distribution may be at Park Avenue Elementary School, a “high traffic” location that may be easier for families to walk to, she said.

Accessibility for families without cars was a concern for Joe DaSilva, school board member.

Distribution is available only at Broadview Middle School and the high school now that the elementary schools have reopened. Beforehand, nearly all the schools gave out meals.

“There’s got to be a lot of kids at some of our schools, who don’t have access to transportation or they themselves walk to Ellsworth Avenue or Park Avenue [elementary schools] or walk to Morris Street [Elementary School], and we’re no longer able to accommodate that,” DaSilva said.

LeBorious said she needs to survey the principals to see whether this is a problem.

“We see that our numbers are good at the schools,” she said. “But in terms of reaching the families that might not be able to drive there, I’ve got to reach out to the principals and get some feedback.”

The new distribution time—9 to 11 a.m.—may also not work well for families because children are on virtual class, DaSilva said. The old time was noon to 2 p.m.

“They [parents] have to leave the child home alone or they have to take the child off the computer to go pick up the food because it’s being distributed during their academic day,” DaSilva said.

LeBorious agreed that could be a problem and said the district could consider offering meals earlier in the mornings or expanding evening sites.

If the district cannot close the $1 million gap, it will need to use part of an about $2.6 million reserve of surplus from last fiscal year’s budget, she said.

“Our goal is to not have to do that,” LeBorious said. “We need that reserve for operating and expenses.”