Hyde Park schools report large jump in free-meal participation, directors cite equipment limits and seek grants

Craig Elliott, the district's school lunch director, told the Hyde Park Central School District Board of Education on Jan. 23 that meal participation and federal/state reimbursements rose sharply after the district adopted the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

Elliott said breakfast participation rose from about 20% in September 2022 to about 38% in September 2024, and that lunch participation in that month rose from 48% to 66%. He said year-to-date totals include more than 42,050 breakfasts and 63,049 lunches, and that monthly reimbursement figures for October grew from about $22,246 for paid breakfasts in 2022'023 to $70,726 in 2024'025.

Those participation gains, Elliott said, translated to higher federal and state reimbursement payments and allowed the food-service program to expand other offerings: a federally funded Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program for elementary students, an after-school snack program that the district bills through the National School Lunch Program, and additional meals for UPK participants. Elliott said the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable…