HARDWICK – Food Service Director Val Hussey continues to coordinate school meals for the six OSSU campuses as Governor Scott and the legislature debate a new proposal to organize and fund education in Vermont that includes cuts to funding free school meals for all,
Pandemic-era funding allowed schools to offer free school meals to all students, regardless of their ability to pay. Federal funding for that program has been cut, leaving the state and schools to decide whether to continue the program, reduce, or cut funding for it.
Hussey said the universal school meal program is the “best thing that’s ever happened to food service and families in school.” It’s eliminated the stress of unpaid bills for families and students, who know when there’s an issue, even when the process is designed to insulate them from it, she said. “The last thing that kids should ever stress about is access to food. They need to grow.”
Now, “Every kid, every day, in every school has good, quality food . . . It’s eliminated archaic and cumbersome government forms that looked only at household size and income,” ignoring other circumstances affecting family finances like medical and heating bills, said Hussey “It’s really a wonderful things and frees up a lot of time.”
Food insecurity has been significantly reduced and most students now take advantage of the school meals, said Hussey
“We have far surpassed the number of children accessing breakfast and lunch under the universal program. If this program goes away, I hope that the patterns would continue, but there is no guarantee,” said Superintendent of Schools, Dr. David Baker
During this period, locally grown and raised food has risen from 5% to 17% of the food served in OSSU schools according to Hussey. The state offers a grant program for schools to source local dairy, beef and produce, which is helped by the Just Cut and Farm Connex programs run by Hardwick’s Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE). The Just Cut program supplies beets, carrots, potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables in many forms. They can come shredded, diced or peeled, eliminating a lot of labor; making food preparation from scratch very efficient and reducing the amount of prepared foods in school meals, said Hussey.
School meals are often healthier than the prepared foods some students would bring from home, she said. “The menu is the same district-wide for lunch, however each school creates their own breakfast menu and fresh fruit and veggie snack.”
All schools, except Craftsbury Pre-K to second grade, offer an all-you-can-eat lunchtime salad bar every day and serve whole grains, she said. What’s available varies with the day, regularly including cottage cheese, cheddar, beans, cucumbers, snap peas, onions, lettuce, proteins and cherry tomatoes. “Kids must take a fruit or vegetable with their meal. Schools serve a balanced diet and kids can try new things like beets and Brussels sprouts.”
Schools regularly serve pizza, with Wolcott Elementary School’s Head Chef David Jourdan even making his own crust. Other schools source pizza crust that meets USDA guidelines from Pie and Pasta in Newport.
Another grant program covers a mid-morning snack at most schools, between breakfast and lunch.
School lunches are reimbursed at roughly $4.50 per plate and a grant program reimburses a small amount based on the percentage of local foods, Hussey said. “Local farmers benefit, contributing to the local economy.”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
