Tutorial success begins earlier than a scholar even will get to the classroom. Having a nutritious breakfast and lunch every day units the stage for that scholar success and that’s why the Ravenna Faculty District serves a free wholesome breakfast and lunch each day to all of our college students.
Our district’s 25 devoted meals service employees members serve virtually 38,000 breakfasts and 48,000 lunches each month and so they take pleasure in making ready our college students for fulfillment. To assist serve these meals, for the previous eight years the Ravenna Faculty District has participated in a federal reimbursement program for varsity meals known as the Neighborhood Eligibility Provision (CEP).
This program permits Ravenna Faculties to not solely determine college students who qualify at no cost college lunches, but in addition permits our district to supply free college meals to all college students. As a substitute of gathering particular person functions from dad and mom to find out if a scholar qualifies for a free or reduced-price college meal, the CEP permits the varsity district to submit the names of all enrolled college students right into a state database. That is known as a direct certification technique. College students who’re within the database and obtain any type of public help from the state are routinely certified at no cost college meals. If no less than 40 % of scholars within the college district qualify, the district receives federal reimbursement for all breakfasts and lunches served.
The CEP and the knowledgeable buying energy of the Ravenna Metropolis Faculty District Meals Service Administration workforce leverage the federal reimbursements to offer free meals for all college students day-after-day. Nonetheless, when the pandemic started in March 2020 and college students had been despatched dwelling to be taught remotely, offering breakfast and lunch to them offered new challenges. The U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA), which administers the federal reimbursement program, acknowledged that colleges wanted extra flexibility to offer meals to college students throughout the pandemic. Consequently, they offered a variety of waivers to extend funding and accommodate new strategies for offering wholesome meals.
As lots of the pandemic restrictions are actually being lifted, the USDA can be ending these waivers that had been offered to the meals service program. For Ravenna Faculties, this implies a return to the CEP that beforehand offered free breakfasts and lunches. College students will proceed to have entry to free nutritious meals day-after-day and fogeys is not going to want to finish an utility type or fund lunch accounts. Cafeteria employees will streamline service operations, permitting college students extra time to take pleasure in their meals and fewer time in line.
Whereas the meal on a given day received’t all the time consist of each scholar’s favourite meals, our dad and mom and grandparents may be assured that our college students are getting a wholesome, tasty meal every day earlier than that large spelling take a look at or math quiz.
Lori Tontimonia is the director of meals providers for Ravenna Faculty District.
