After complaint, school district reworks free lunch program

Following a complaint to the California Board of Education, Sonoma Valley Unified School District has retooled its free lunch program, ensuring that families who choose to keep their kids off campus can still access the state-mandated service.

When students were sent home during the pandemic, the district hosted weekly campus pick-ups and delivered meals to families in need. But when the school year began in August, it did not have plans to get meals to the 60 or so students who signed up for independent study, plus another handful on COVID quarantine.

“In the meantime, children have gone without access to meals for four weeks,” said Celeste Winders, a Sonoma parent and student activist. “For kids who can’t attend in-person learning, they’ve been treated as a constant afterthought.”

District leaders seemed to hastily arrange a program after Winders raised the red flag. In one email, Associate Superintendent Bruce Abbott said the program launched on Sept. 7, but food services officials had it listed as Sept. 8, and families were not informed about the change in services. The lack of organization caused Winders to file a Sept. 13 complaint with the California Department of Education’s Nutrition Services Division stating that the “only students who have been able to obtain their meals are the students who are able to attend in-person learning.”

In an email to Winders, School Board President Melanie Blake wrote, “I agree with you that this is not acceptable. We are now able to provide free meals for any family; that means we need to provide free meals for all students regardless of where they receive their instruction.”

With that, district staff sought to find a more palatable solution for both students on campus, and those who stayed at home due to health concerns, personal choice or COVID quarantine. Last week, it officially launched a meal pick-up service, located at El Verano Elementary from 2 to 2:30 p.m. every Wednesday for students who are not learning on campus. There, families can pick up a week’s worth of lunches that students would otherwise receive in school.

Winders expressed concern that, at just 30 minutes, the time window to pick up food was too limited for working families. When the Index-Tribune went to the pick-up event on Sept. 15, one day after the program was announced by the district, no families came for the meals being offered.

“This is what I though would happen until the word gets out more,” said Colleen Daly, the kitchen manager of El Verano Elementary.

Daly had silver tubs filled with pre-packaged school lunches, snacks and juice boxes which she left on the counter of the kitchen window that opens to the school’s gym. The only thing she held back were the frozen food items.

“If they really want it,” she said, “they’ll be here.”

This school year, California expanded its school meals program, offering free lunches to families of four who make less than $34,000 a year, while those who make less than $48,000 are eligible for reduced price meals. Currently, 61% of students in the district qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Abbott said that, having looked through the list of students in independent study, they did not necessarily represent the district’s poorest families, who would qualify for the free meals.

“The economic balance for independent study is not equal to our school district as a whole,” Abbott said. “In other words, a lot of people who chose independent study are not necessarily our high families-of-need.”

Winders wishes the school would go back to delivering meals to students, which she said is the best option for working families. But the return of in-person classes has meant the school district does not have enough staff to continue deliveries, Abbott said.

“I would have liked to have done that,” Abbott said about deliveries. “It’s just the logistics. I think people forget we’re a district of 3,500 kids and 500 employees and nine schools and you can’t just decide in the morning that something is going to work and snap your fingers.”

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.