APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – For the past two years, every student in the Appleton Area School District was able to get free lunch and breakfast from a COVID waiver through the USDA. That waiver expired for this school year.
However, the district was able to bring back free meals for certain schools.
AASD is able to feed about 5,700 students through the CEP Program.
“It’s the Community Eligibility Provision through the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act,” explained AASD Executive Director of Finance Holly Burr. “Once the school qualifies, we can apply, be approved and then provide free breakfast, free lunch to all students at that school.”
The CEP Program was used in the district before the pandemic started, but now more schools are qualifying.
There are 13 elementary schools, plus Wilson Middle and West High School, that qualify in Appleton:
Appleton Bilingual*
Badger Elementary
Columbus Elementary
Dunlap Elementary
Edison Elementary*
Foster Elementary*
Franklin Elementary*
Highlands Elementary
Horizons Elementary
Jefferson Elementary
Johnston Elementary
McKinley Elementary
Richmond Elementary*
Wilson Middle
West High School*
“We were able to add six more schools this year,” said Burr. “So, 15 of our schools now qualify.”
To qualify for the program, each school needs to have 40% of students directly qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Some parents find this to be a huge help.
“Groceries are expensive right now, so it certainly helps us financially,” said Appleton parent Celia Barnes. “It helps in terms of saving me time — I can’t emphasize that enough because mornings are hectic already.”
Barnes tells FOX 11 this puts all students on an even playing field in the cafeteria.
“When school lunch is available to everybody, then no one questions why one kid is eating school lunch and one kid is not.”
She hopes this could one day be expanded to all schools in the district.
“It’s important that children not have to worry about a stigma associated with eating.”
“Anytime you get students to eat, it will benefit them,” said Burr. “They need to be better prepared to learn, and having the correct fuel for that will benefit the learning process.”
All elementary schools in the district automatically get a free breakfast.
The Green Bay Area Public School District also has 26 schools participating in this program, with four being new this year.
Baird
Beaumont
Chappell
Danz
Doty
Eisenhower
Elmore
Fort Howard
Head Start Learning Center (Bellevue and Jefferson sites)
Howe
Jackson
John Dewey Academy of Learning*
Keller
Kennedy
King*
Lincoln
MacArthur*
Minoka-Hill
NEW School of Innovation*
Nicolet
Sullivan
Tank
Franklin
Washington
West High
