Lunch could be free to all Fall River students starting next school year

FALL RIVER — Neatly chopped vegetables filled the salad bar.

Pizza in four varieties – including meat lovers – were laid out and ready. Tacos with all the fixin’s, sweet and sour chicken, and burgers were prepared.

Food service workers lined up behind the shining stainless steel counters waiting for the bell to signal the start of lunch.

When it sounded, the rush was on.

Dozens of exuberant tweens stormed the cafeteria line at Morton Middle School and made their choices and presence known, chatting and laughing.

“They’re all grabbing vegetables,” said Fall River Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Ken Pacheco. “It makes you feel good to see kids eating.”

Some ate with gusto from plates piled high with offerings, and others picked at a few carefully chosen items. A few opened insulated lunch carriers to nosh on food packed at home.

It was all over in less than a half-hour. Until the next batch of kids rolled in. In all, about 600 students had lunch before starting afternoon classes.

In the Fall River school district, some 65 percent of the students receive a free or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program based on household income and reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In the new school year, all students will get free lunch, pending a vote of the School Committee June 10.

Fulfilling a need

The USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision allows high-poverty districts, such as Fall River, to serve universal free lunch and breakfast at no cost to all students, regardless of income.

The process was attempted in the past, but grant funding for other necessary school programming would have been cut if the district enrolled in the free lunch/breakfast provision. That is no longer the case, according to Pacheco.

“There’s no reason not to do it now,” Pacheco said. “The need is here in the city.”

The program has several benefits. Students won’t have to worry about payment. Parents will no longer have to fill out applications for free and reduced lunches. The district will no longer have to chase parents to pay for meals or fill out forms.

Bob Cutting, director of Food Services, said even without universal lunch, all students are served meals regardless of whether or not they can pay. Those who can’t pay still get a lunch – never a cheese sandwich.

“We don’t let any child go without a tray of food,” Cutting said. “We would never embarrass anybody.”

Photos on social media of half-filled lunch trays and talk of cafeterias running out of food a few weeks back were taken seriously by the district.

“The staff took it personal,” Cutting said. “We’re not running out of food.”

Nancy Cardoza, field supervisor for the lunch program, said the district would never let children go hungry.

“We see them every day,” Cardoza said. “We feel connected with them.”

Feeding frenzy

The district, through its food service contract with Whitson’s School Nutrition, feeds more than 10,000 students each school day.

It offers four lunch choices in the elementary schools, about a dozen at the middle level, and 16 at B.M.C. Durfee High School.

All offerings follow mandated nutrition guidelines and include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and protein. Meals are also low in sugar, fat and sodium.

At Durfee, where 800 students file in for each of the three lunches, the kitchen is a well-timed machine.

Workers chop vegetables, roll out whole-grain pizza crusts, chop potatoes for French fries and even boil whole turkeys for sandwiches.

Offerings are many on any given day and include salads, pizza, burgers, pasta, chicken Parmesan, sub sandwiches, smoothies, full meals, soup, tacos and specialties such as drenched dumplings.

“The burger bar is one of our biggest sellers,” Cardoza said. “Nachos are a big one.”

Cardoza said lunch choices are tweaked often to make sure students are getting not only foods that are healthy, but foods they will eat.

Durfee, being a cooking school, also prepares some 1,600 meals to go out to other schools where they are heated. Besides Durfee, cooking schools are Kuss, Henry Lord and Talbot. Silvia Elementary School cooks for itself.

Breakfast and beyond

Universal free breakfast started in elementary schools nine years ago and has been expanded to middle schools. Next year, it will be added at the high school.

“Participation has increased,” Cardoza said. “It helps the families. They know they can drop off the children and get breakfast.”

Serving school meals is a business itself in the district, amounting to some $6 million per year, including food, salaries to some 180 staffers and other associated costs.

Besides breakfast and lunch, there are programs in place to feed students after school and over the summer. New programs will include dinner and a food pantry for needy students to take food home for nights and weekends.

Food services have been contracted out to Whitson’s for the past decade. Bidding is about to begin for new food service contract.

When it comes to lunch, Superintendent Matt Malone said variety is key, as is listening to the students.

Malone said he was “very impressed” with Whitson’s and would like to see the company apply for a new contract.

One way to keep track of what students are eating is to eat school lunch. Malone tries to do that about twice a month.

“I love the nachos,” Malone said. “It’s probably the kids’ favorite, too.”

Email Deborah Allard at dallard@heraldnews.com.