Students eat lunch of homemade pizza and caesar salad at the Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School, in Essex Junction, Vt., Thursday, June 9, 2022. The pandemic-era federal aid that made school meals available for free to all public school students — regardless of family income levels — is ending, raising fears about the effects in the upcoming school year for families already struggling with rising food and fuel costs. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

After federal waivers that provided school meals for all during the pandemic were not renewed, more than half a million Minnesota students and families will be going back to paying for school breakfast and lunch for the first time in two years.

One in six children in Minnesota face food insecurity, and of those food insecure students, one in four do not qualify for free school meals. School meals are often one of the only nutritious meals children receive throughout the day.

The average school meals cost $150 per student per month, which amounts to a significant expense for families across the state.

Statewide, schools are now accepting applications for free and reduced meals. Applications submitted by Sept. 2, families may also receive up to $435 in P-EBT (pandemic-ebt). For more information on applying hungerfreeschoolsmn.org/summer-pebt-resources.

A majority of Minnesotans support providing school meals for all students, according to a recent poll. Some of the data from that poll include:

62% of Minnesotans across party lines support action in our state to permanently offer school meals at no charge to all students, regardless of income

• 84% of Minnesotans believe that free school meals positively impact childhood hunger.

• 81% of Minnesotans believe free school meals positively impact children’s ability to learn in school.

• 76% of respondents believe that local schools should play a greater role in helping all children have access to healthy food during the school day.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week it has signed a $3,458,752.00 cooperative agreement with Minnesota to increase its purchase of nutritious, local foods for school meal programs.

Through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture will purchase and distribute local and regional foods and beverages for schools to serve children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. These products will be healthy and unique to their geographic area, with the goal of improving child nutrition and building new relationships between schools and local farmers.

“This cooperative agreement supporting Minnesota’s schools is another example of how USDA is working to build a more resilient food system rooted in local and regional production,” said Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. “The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program provides an opportunity for states to strengthen ties between local farmers, ranchers, food businesses and schools, and gives students access to nutritious foods unique to the area they live in, building stronger connections across local communities.”

“Strengthening relationships between local producers and schools is a long-term strategy to ensure our children always have access to nutritious foods in school, a win-win for child health and American agriculture,” said Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. “Through this program and many other efforts to support the school meal programs, USDA is committed to giving schools the tools they need to set children up to learn, grown, and thrive.”

With this funding, the MDA expects to increase the number of Minnesota schools engaging in local food procurement; increase the amount of local food purchased by schools; and create new partnerships between schools and Minnesota food producers, specifically underserved farms and small businesses. Funds will be sub-awarded to schools through a competitive Farm to School grant program that will reimburse schools for local food purchases.

“This cooperative agreement will build on the strong foundation we’ve laid in Minnesota with a growing network of partners in our Farm to School efforts,” Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Petersen said. “More Minnesota schools will have access to reimbursement grants to support local purchasing, which will strengthen our state’s local and regional markets, support small and emerging farmers, and ensure our kids are eating the freshest, most nutritious food our state can offer.”

The LFS cooperative agreements will allow organizations the flexibility to design food purchasing programs and establish partnerships with farmers and ranchers that best suit their local needs, accommodate environmental and climate conditions, account for seasonal harvests, improve supply chain resiliency and meet the needs of schools within their service area. Additionally, the program will provide more opportunities for historically underserved producers and processors to sell their products.