Topeka USD 501 will offer free lunches to all students starting next school year – and it’s the first district in Kansas to do so outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicole Jahnke, USD 501’s general director of child nutritional services, said the idea behind providing students with free lunches is to eliminate lunchroom inequity. Jahnke said it’s an every day mission to offer nutritious food to all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background. “If you have a child in primary school and they have breakfast and lunch with us, they’ll be saving just under $700 a year per student,” Jahnke said. “And if you have a child in secondary school, it’ll be even more than that. So, it’s quite a big savings.”
Source: KSNT 27 News
