Oregon School Lunch Week will celebrate benefits of nutrition programs

UPDATE:  In accordance with new guidance from Gov. Brown we and the Oregon Department of Education are canceling plans for Oregon School Lunch Week.

OSBA and the Oregon Department of Education are establishing April 6-10 as Oregon School Lunch Week to celebrate this vital part of students’ day.

Well-fed students with proper nutrition perform better academically and behave better in the classroom, according to research. A 2017 state law also removed the stigma about being able to afford a healthy meal by requiring that Oregon schools provide a meal to any student who asks; schools cannot ask for payment.

School board members are invited to eat with students during the week of April 6-10 to see for themselves the healthy and tasty options and experience the social benefits of public-school lunches. School board members are encouraged to post to social media using the #OregonSchoolLunchWeek hashtag and tag the ODE (@ORDeptEd) and OSBA (@OSBANews) Twitter handles.

The National School Lunch Program, started in 1946, delivers funding for nearly 100,000 schools and institutions to serve lunches nationwide to almost 30 million students a day, including more than 20 million free lunches. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses schools for each meal served based on family incomes.

In Oregon, 49% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, and in 2018-19 more than 45 million school lunches were delivered to Oregon students. The state Legislature has endorsed the value of school meals, including approximately $42 million in the Student Success Act this biennium for expanded school nutrition programs.

- Jake Arnold, OSBA
jarnold@osba.org