Byron School Board member calls for free lunch policy to be revisited

While the vast majority of school districts have free lunch for all students, following legislation passed in 2023, the Byron School District is an outlier.
“When free meals first started during COVID, the Byron School Board, after consulting with students, staff and parents, chose to keep the present meal plan at the high school level,” Superintendent Mike Neubeck wrote in a prepared statement. “When the opportunity arose again last year, the school board again voted to keep the meals at the high school the same and to have students pay for meals.”
Neubeck noted, students who qualify for educational benefits still receive free or reduced lunches.
“However, these lunches have larger portions with more options each day, and nutrition is still at the forefront. We contract through Taher Foods for our food service,” Neubeck said. “They also supply a chef’s meal each day which caters to the interests of our students. Our students and families appreciate the options and the size of portions compared to what they once received on the food program. We also find that we have minimal waste of food because the students are able to pick what they eat. This is why Byron stayed with this type of food plan at the high school level.”
But when asked, Heather Holmes, a Byron School Board member, who is running against state Rep. Duane Quam, for House District 24A, says she had changed her mind on the issue.
An email sent to Quam seeking comment went unreturned.
“Byron had decided not to be part of the national food program at the high school a number of years ago,” Holmes said. “When the universal school meals program started, our board had to decide between keeping with the current program or changing over. A survey was sent out to students/families, and the consensus was that people preferred to keep the high school meal program as is because of the meals offered.”
Holmes said her concern at the time was whether or not students who needed free or reduced lunch would still be able to receive it.
“That was still going to be the case, so at the time, it seemed like the correct decision,” Holmes said.
But recently, Holmes said, she learned there is more to the issue, particularly when it comes to when students aren’t in school.
“I recently became aware of a program that provides extra money to qualifying families (including those with children in foster care) during the summer months,” Holmes said. “This program is unavailable to schools not enrolled in the federal food program. I don’t want those families in our district to miss out on that assistance. Also, I am concerned for families who may not qualify for free or reduced lunch but may still be struggling with the price of meals.”
Although, she won’t be on the school board for much longer, whether she wins or loses in November she said “I think it is time we reconsider our participation in the national program for our high school.”
“It is too late for our district to change programs this school year,” Holmes said. “However, I hope our new board next year will take this information into account and revisit this issue.”
Neubeck noted the school district does receive aid based on the “number of students who qualify for educational benefits. Our lunch program is not made to be a large money maker but it is also not made to be a money loser.”
“We do make some money on our hot lunch program, even with the free lunches from the State, and some of that money is used to pay for the students who receive free and reduced prices at the high school,” Neubeck said. “We have a small population of students in this area so it costs our district $130 per day to subsidize this part of the program.”