The Hillsboro R-3 School District received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that allows the district to offer free breakfasts and lunches Mondays through Fridays to all students.
Through the program, which runs through Dec. 31, free meals are available to all students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are 18 or younger, regardless of their family’s income.
The meals will be offered to Hills-boro R-3 students whether they’re attending in-person classes or learning at home online. The meals also are available to any student who lives in the district, even those who attend private schools or attend classes in other districts.
Families whose children aren’t at one of the Hillsboro R-3 schools when breakfast and lunch are served must pick up the free meals at the schools at assigned times, Superintendent Jon Isaacson said.
Hillsboro school officials learned about the waiver Sept. 3 and started offering the free meals Tuesday, said Kim Jackson, the district’s food service director.
She said the district had a similar waiver that allowed it to provide free meals to students after buildings closed in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After that free meal distribution ended, another one was held during summer school, Jackson said.
She said the pandemic led to some district residents losing their jobs, and as a result, the school district qualified for the waiver to provide the free lunches through December.
“A district must have 50 percent or more of its students who qualify for free or reduced meals to qualify for the program,” Jackson said. “We have qualified because of those added to our rolls due to unemployment.”
She said lots of families have received free meals from the district since the pandemic began.
“From March to the end of the (2019-2020) school year May 27, we provided the meals for 170 students a day (while all classes were virtual),” Jackson said. “We did it again during summer school, and had about 335 students a day get the breakfasts and lunches. Today (on Tuesday), we’re doing the meals for about 685 students.”
More than 3,400 students are enrolled in the district.
Jackson praised the Hillsboro R-3 staff members who work to get the meals ready.
“These are the same type of meals we provide in normal times, except for the virtual kids, who get sack meals,” she said.