School’s summer food program is shut down

WAUSA – Wausa Public Schools’ 2022 Summer Food Program has come to an end earlier than expected.

According to a May 27 online post by the school district, “We received news yesterday of federal changes that we cannot control. Unfortunately, we will not be able to continue the Summer Food Program in June.”

When asked about the post, Wausa Superintendent Brad Hoesing noted the changes have with several waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that have allowed all children to continue to receive nutritious meals during the summer when schools are out of session.

Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, the USDA announced COVID-19 nutrition waivers for school districts nationwide to deal with operational challenges and enhance access to meals.

The nutrition waivers have allowed school districts like Wausa’s to offer free summer meals to children for pickup or delivery to maintain social distancing during the pandemic.

The USDA also put an estimated $750 million more into school meal programs across the nation this year, making sure federal reimbursements kept pace with food and operational costs, while ensuring children continued to receive healthy meals at school.

However, the nutrition waivers – which have been extended by the USDA several times during the pandemic – are scheduled to end on June 30.

“We initially anticipated that it’d be done at the end of June, and we had an e-mail from the state Department (of Education) saying it was done at the end of May,” Hoesing said. “That was it. It was just that simple.

“It’s unfortunate because I think that it’s a good program and it’s a good way to feed kids, but we also understand those are things out of our control,” he said. “Unless you are a high-poverty school – which we are not – they said you are done.”

Extensions for the nutrition waivers were not included in President Joe Biden’s roughly $1.5 trillion spending bill earlier this year.

Hoesing noted Wausa possibly could provide a summer food program without the nutrition waivers, but “everyone would have to pay for it. It wouldn’t be cost-effective for our school. It would take a lot of tax revenue to run it.”

The school district had summer food programs in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. The one in 2022 started on May 23 and lasted only until May 31.

Meals for children ages 0-18 had been free while meals for adults had been $4 each paid upon delivery. Breakfast and lunch deliveries had been available Monday-Friday, except on holidays.

“It was free for kids no matter what,” Hoesing said, adding Wausa’s summer food program this year “won’t come back. No, it won’t, unfortunately.”