ROCKFORD, IL — Rockford Public Schools officials say free breakfasts and lunches will be offered to any student who wants them even as the federal government fails to fund food benefits for millions of Americans.
On Nov. 3, students at Rockford’s STEAM Academy at Haskell ate chicken drumsticks, Lunchable-style pizzas, pears and bananas like they would any other school day.
District officials said they intend to keep it that way despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding SNAP — the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“Our core breakfast and lunch services will be completely uninterrupted,” said Ehren Jarrett, superintendent of Rockford Public Schools. “We know our children will get two really solid meals. And that is universally available, so even if a family previously felt like they had enough food security with their other benefits that they didn’t always need to do the breakfast or lunch, that’s available to all of our students.”
The loss of SNAP benefits, which kicked in Nov. 1, is expected to leave an estimated 1.9 million people in Illinois and 64,000 people in Winnebago County without enough money to buy groceries.
District officials have been monitoring the situation and are prepared for more students to start arriving to school hungry.
The Trump administration says it will provide partial SNAP benefits in November, but payments are expected to be delayed by anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
“We are taking proactive measures to ensure our team is prepared for a potential rise in breakfast and lunch participation,” Colleen Marchesi, the district’s executive director of Nutrition Services, wrote in an email. “Although changes in SNAP benefit status may affect families in November, our commitment to feeding and nourishing the students of RPS 205 remains steadfast.”
Rockford’s STEAM Academy at Haskell feeds about 270 children daily, said Principal Loree Leathers.
Students go to recess before lunch because research shows youngsters eat better that way, Leathers said. And breakfast is served later because students eat more the later it gets.
“We structure our breakfast in the morning so the big kids eat a bit later because we are finding they eat more if we have them eat in the 8 o’clock versus 7 o’clock hour,” Leathers said. “It helps wake up their body. It helps feed their body which feeds their brain, and that’s something we are big believers in.”
Rockford Public Schools has been serving free breakfast and lunch at all schools since 2016. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Public Schools hopes free breakfast and lunch will help families manage SNAP loss
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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