The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it plenty of concerns for parents of school-aged students, but paying for lunches wasn’t among them.

A federal waiver allowing all Pennsylvania K-12 students automatic access to free school breakfast and lunch, however, expired on June 30. Local education officials are now launching an informational campaign to remind parents meeting the income guidelines that they need to submit a free or reduced lunch application in order to avoid paying full price for meals.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced that the United States Department of Agriculture released new federal income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced-price school meals and free milk for July 2022 - June 2023.

A full list of income guidelines is available at https://bit.ly/3cgcZN2, but, for example, a family of three with an annual income of $29,939 or less would qualify for free meals, while those making between $29,940 and $42,606 would qualify for a reduced lunch rate of no more than 40 cents. For a family of four, the maximum annual income to receive the free lunch benefit is $36,075, while the reduced price benefit would be available if the family’s income was between $36,076 and $51,338.

“It is our school board’s concern that, because meals were automatically free the last few years, parents won’t know they have to fill out the paperwork to continue receiving free lunches and therefore, kids may be eating less,” Lehighton Area School District Board President Joy Beers said.

Initially, the federal bipartisan Keep Kids Fed Act eliminated the reduced price lunch category, meaning families whose incomes were 130% to 185% of the poverty level would have qualified for free lunches instead.

After the bill passed the House 376-42 in June, however, Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, successfully advocated for the return of the reduced price category before it went to President Joe Biden for a signature.

Most districts have the free/reduced lunch application available on their website. For Lehighton, the application can be found at https://bit.ly/3yBFWKK. The applications can be submitted online or via a printed out paper copy.

State officials said the importance of determining individual student eligibility is vital to ensure eligible students receive school meals at reduced or no cost.

“Offering free and reduced meals and free milk is a major way schools provide for their students,” said Vonda Ramp, state Director of Child Nutrition Programs. “Keeping students fed means they can focus on learning in the classroom instead of having to think about where their next meal might come from.”

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, of the 1.7 million K-12 students in the state in 2018-19, nearly 900,000, or 52%, qualified for a free lunch. Students qualified for free lunch if their families earned at or below 130% of the federal poverty line.

“This application is very important for parents in the district to get in because nobody wants to see any children going hungry,” Lehighton Director Barbara Bowes said.