FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) – Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) will provide free breakfast and lunch to all students beginning next school year.
The plan was approved by the FWCS Board of School Trustees on Monday.
No-cost meals have been provided to elementary and middle school students since 2014, but will now also be available for high school students.
Although breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost, a la carte items will still be available for purchase. Students can also purchase extra milk through a prepaid account or with cash.
FWCS is now eligible to offer this program because more than 40 percent of students are directly certified by the state for benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and/or Medicaid.
As of May 1, nearly 52 percent of FWCS students were directly certified to qualify for free meals.
Families will still need to apply for free textbooks, if eligible.
More information will be sent out to FWCS families in July.
1 comment
I understand this will be paid for by taxpayers but maybe a review of FWCS budget is in order? The cash-strapped FWCS repeatedly requests increased funding while supporting 56 administrators each making over $100,000 (reported on another local media source). The facts reported there are troubling. Why isn’t WOWO investigating or reporting on that? Anyone?