As National School Lunch Week The end has come, Congress should celebrate by finally fixing the inequity that leaves hundreds of thousands of children behind: the exclusion of full-time online public school students from the National School Lunch Program.
Right now, there are more than 347,000 online public school students who would otherwise be eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. deprived of benefitsThat’s about 57 percent of all virtual public school students nationwide. These are families who meet the same income threshold as their peers in traditional schools, but they lose access to aid, simply because their children attend school.
In some states, the numbers are staggering. in michigan, more than 70 percent According to data from the Center for Educational Performance and Information for the 2024-25 school year, 22,000 of the state’s full-time online students were eligible for free lunch benefits but did not receive them.
The percentage is even higher at some of the state’s largest schools: 78 percent of students at Michigan Great Lakes Academy and 80 percent of students at Michigan’s HighPoint Virtual Academy qualify for the program but get nothing.
These are not small gaps. They represent kids who are just as hungry as their peers in brick-and-mortar schools, but are penalized for pursuing school choice.
These numbers reflect the stories I’ve heard from families across the country. When Florida resident Shanelle lost her job in social education, her family lost their home due to the loss of income. They started staying in hotels. They decided to enroll their special needs daughter in an online public school to give her a sense of stability while also meeting her educational needs.
Although the transition to virtual public school provided educational stability, it came with a heavy and unexpected tradeoff: Her family no longer qualified for the National School Lunch Program.
“When you’re in that situation, you can’t promise your child when they’ll eat, what they’ll eat, or whether they’ll eat at all. In brick and mortar, he had the structure of reliable eating,” says Shenell. shared in an interview With parents for school options.
Tennessee grandmother Kimberly is raising her three grandchildren on a fixed income his grocery bill tripled Since switching to online public school programs. Due to the health and immunity issues of their youngest grandson, a brick-and-mortar school is not an option for their family.
No family should be forced to choose between a child’s health and his or her hunger.
Congress knows this is a problem. In fact, appropriations report language has already directed USDA to seek solutions. Now is the time to act. We saw during the pandemic how flexible and creative leaders can be when it comes to feeding students outside of cafeterias through curbside pickup, meal delivery services, and EBT cards. If Congress could solve it then, it can solve it now.
This is not a partisan issue. Leaders of all political parties, including Republicans, who have supported school choice and family freedom, should see this as a priority. Excluding low-income families from essential nutrition support undermines the promise of education options.
Congress could fix this easily: Remove the mass setting requirements in the National School Lunch Program that prevent states from being able to offer school meal benefits to full-time online public school students. Doing so will ensure that no family has to choose between a school that works for their child and the food they need to thrive.
As we celebrate National School Lunch Week, let’s commit to more than celebrations and slogans. Let’s make sure every child who otherwise qualifies for the National School Lunch Program actually receives it. Congress has already accepted this problem. Now, it is time for Congress to resolve this.
Letrisha is the president of Weber School Options for Parents,
