Last year, $245,556.32 in school meals were unpaid for in the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), according to The Capital Times. The finding aligns with a nationwide trend since universal free meals ended.
Schools around the U.S. have reported higher levels of unpaid meal debts since the end of federally funded, universal school meals through the first two years of the pandemic. MMSD’s meal debt jumped significantly from pre-pandemic numbers, which at times were under $100,000. A School Nutrition Association trends report earlier this year found that of nearly 1,200 responding districts, 847 reported unpaid meal debts. Combined, those districts had $19.2 million in school meals that went unpaid for. Seventy percent of responding districts called it a “significant” or “moderate” challenge.
One contributing factor to MMSD’s meal debt may be that for two years, families did not need to fill out any form to receive a free meal, but now they do. Additionally, income restrictions once again limit student eligibility for receiving free or reduced-price school meals. Students who come from a family of four with a household income above $39,000, for example, are not eligible for free meals.
