More Free Meals At APS

Food Department Was Making Profit

Albuquerque Public Schools will cover the full cost of breakfast and lunch this year for about 7,000 low-income students who normally pay a discounted price for meals.

The move is expected to cost the district between $300,000 and $400,000, which has been freed up because the APS food and nutrition department is making a profit.

“We think so long as kids are hungry, we shouldn’t be making a profit,” said APS Superintendent Winston Brooks.

The federal government subsidizes meals for low-income students across the country, and provides different benefits to families, depending on their income. This new practice at APS will affect families who earn between 130 percent and 185 percent of the federal poverty level. For a family of four, that means families earning between $29,965 and $42,643, before taxes.

Brooks said he hopes more qualifying families will sign up for lunch subsidies now that more will be eligible for free lunches.

“This is a big deal and wonderful news for Albuquerque’s poor children,” said Jenny Ramo, executive director of New Mexico Appleseed, a nonprofit that works on hunger issues. “In this time of drastically increased hunger and poverty, startling numbers of children rely on school meals for vital nutrition.”

Ramo and Brooks emphasized that students cannot focus on learning if they are hungry, and that students perform better in school if they eat a good breakfast and lunch.

APS’ food and nutrition services department is financially self-sufficient, but the district has historically covered its cost of utilities and other fixed costs. In recent years, the department has run a significant cash balance, and can now afford to pay those fixed costs. This frees up operational dollars, which will be used to cover the new lunch costs.

Brooks credited Mary Swift, director of food and nutrition services, for her “sound financial management.” Swift said she has long hoped her depart-

ment could one day stop charging students who qualify for reduced-cost lunches.

The district is also using about $5,000 from the APS Education Foundation to wipe out all the meal debt owed by families who qualify for reduced-price lunch.

“Lunch debt is treated much the same as library fines, and schools may restrict students from certain activities until their balance is paid,” foundation director Phill Casaus said in a news release. “Now, students can start school with a clean slate.”

The reduced price for meals has been 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch. The price for higher-income families is $1.15 for breakfast, $1.95 for elementary lunch and $2.20 for secondary lunch. That is up 10 cents from last year, in accordance with a federal law that reimburses districts more per lunch, but requires districts to raise their prices and provide healthier meals.

Parents must reapply for free lunch every year. They can either apply on the APS website at www.aps.edu, or they can apply at their child’s school. Swift said the applications are on blue paper this year.