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Sioux Falls board hears nutrition report as state bill would make reduced-price meals free
Summary
Child Nutrition Services told the district it serves more than 15,000 lunches and 5,000 breakfasts daily, has supplied over 2.2 million meal equivalents through February, and flagged implementation costs tied to upcoming federal dietary-guideline changes; lawmakers’ HB 1082 would make reduced-price meals free statewide, easing district costs.
Gay Anderson, who presented the district’s Child Nutrition Services update, told the Sioux Falls School District board on March 9 that the program serves more than 15,000 lunches and more than 5,000 breakfasts each school day and had provided over 2.2 million meal equivalents through the end of February.
Anderson said the district’s free-and-reduced rate stands at 48.15 percent and that 11,824 students currently receive free meals under existing qualifications; community partners are covering meals for an additional 408 students. She said unpaid meal balances have become more manageable compared with increases two to three years ago.
“And two, three years ago, we were going up by $3,000 a day,” Anderson said, describing how the district has reduced that pressure. She gave raw food-cost figures: the average breakfast food cost is $1.88 (federal…
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