FIghting Food Insecurity with Free Lunches

After the pandemic, MSDWT School Social Work and Child Nutrition teams took notice of a growing issue affecting students throughout the District: food insecurity. 

The elimination of the federal COVID-era free lunch program had led to students acquiring staggering amounts of lunch debt. There was concern not only for the students who had acquired this debt, but also for those who may be skipping meals due to cost. To ensure no student in Washington Township went hungry, school social workers and District administration knew drastic, immediate action was needed. 

Through the Foundation’s School Social Workers Support Fund, social workers are able to provide families experiencing financial barriers with the resources they need without going through the traditional grant process. This fund helped wipe out more than $26,000 in school lunch debt—but more help was needed to stop lunch debt before it began. The solution? To create a new position within the District, one whose sole focus was helping families enroll in food assistance programs that would make them eligible for free and reduced lunch. This in and of itself would be huge… but it also had the potential for a much, much bigger impact.

Thanks to donor support and grants from the Quest for Excellence and another family foundation, the WTSF raised enough funds to create a two-year Family Support Liaison position. In November 2023, the District found the perfect person for the job: Vickie Bradley.

Ms. Bradley is a former Washington Township parent, and a long-time registrar for the District who came out of retirement to fill this position. But more than that, she is an incredibly passionate advocate for students and families, who uses her own lived experiences to create a connection.

“I was in a lot of the same situations as these families when my kids were in school,” she says. “I know what it feels like to have to make a decision about what to pay and what to let go. To think, ‘Do I pay my kid’s lunch at school or do I pay to keep the lights on?’ I understand.”

When the Child Nutrition team notices a student is carrying a lunch debt, they pass their information on to Ms. Bradley. She then jumps into action, contacting families to let them know she can help them sign up for free and reduced lunch if they qualify. If she can’t reach the family, she tries again. And again. And again.

“Nobody follows up like I do,” she says with a laugh.

She also understands that for some families, this process can be emotionally fraught, and emphasizes the importance of establishing trust.

“Asking for help is a hard thing,” she says. “And with our world today, many families are scared to reveal their situations. I have to build that trust so they know there’s help available and my only job is to help them get it.”

And Ms. Bradley is exceptionally good at that job. In just seven months, she was able to help the Child Nutrition team get an astounding 237 students approved for free lunch, and an additional 94 students for reduced lunch. When I share this number with her, she smiles.

“I don’t look at the numbers, really,” she says. “I look at my joy. And my joy comes when I look in the system and see a student has been approved. I know that’s one less thing the family needs to worry about.”

But the numbers are important. Schools that have a certain percentage of enrolled students on Free and Reduced Lunch, SNAP and TANF qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Schools that qualify for CEP are reimbursed for meals through federal funds, allowing them to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students without collecting household applications.

With so many new students officially enrolled in food assistance programs, MSDWT became eligible for increased reimbursement, reducing the amount the District would need to subsidize and putting free lunch within reach. As a result, in July 2024, the School Board approved a plan to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students in kindergarten through 8th grade.

With free lunches secured for all elementary and middle school students, Ms. Bradley is now laser-focused on ensuring North Central students who require food assistance are getting the help they need. To do that, she has enlisted the help of MSDWT’s Multi-Lingual Family Liaisons. Washington Township is an incredibly diverse District, with more than 80 different languages being spoken in our schools. To better and more accurately communicate with these families, the Foundation secured $25,000 in funding from a family foundation to support additional hours and training for our Multi-Lingual Family Liaisons. 

“I couldn’t do half my job without the support of these liaisons,” she says. “I can talk to all these families, but if English isn’t their first language, they might not understand what I’m offering. The liaisons explain everything and help them fill out the application, all in their native language. And Washington Township’s liaisons are the best—they go above and beyond for our families.”

As Ms. Bradley continues her important work, she wants donors to understand the impact their contributions truly make.

“Having been in the same situations as these families, I cannot stress how important and what a big blessing your donations are,” she says. “These students and families know you’ve helped them… and they won’t forget.”

Want to help support more programs like this? Donate today and help our Foundation support programs to enhance the educational experience for our students and provide resources for MSDWT teachers and staff.