This past hour, Seattle Public Schools held a media briefing on the new city-funded program to provide free school breakfasts and lunches for every student, not just the ones who meet what was noted is a tough eligibility standard. One key point: The district needs data from every family, so they’re asking everyone to please fill out the School Meals Application for Child Nutrition Eligibility and Education Benefit (CNEEB), preferably online. The city – represented at the briefing by Mayor Katie Wilson – has committed to reimbursing the district for meals that aren’t covered by federal funding. As also explained at the briefing, they’re tracking who’s eating school meals via bar codes issued to students. Until now, about half the district’s 106 schools already offered universal school meals because so many of their students were eligible; now, it’s happening at the other half too, as explained in this document from a School Board meeting last month. The city funding isn’t permanent, though – Wilson says she’s hopeful it will only be needed to “fill in a few years’ gap” until the state can fund universal school meals instead.
