USDA extends waivers for free school meals

By Teghan Simonton

Trib Total Media

School children across the U.S. can continue receiving free school meals through the end of the academic year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“As our nation recovers and reopens, we want to ensure that children continue to receive the nutritious breakfasts and lunches they count on during the school year wherever they are, and however they are learning,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday in a statement.

In March, the USDA began offering waivers to some requirements to school lunch programs and other services. The agency had extended some waivers in late August, allowing schools and community partners to serve meals to children at no charge until funding runs out, or as late as Dec. 31. This latest action extends them again, this time through June 30.

The waivers allow summer meal programs to continue in all areas at no cost, permit meals to be served outside the typically required group settings and meal times, waive meal pattern requirements and allow parents and guardians to pick up the meals for their children.

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