NEISD will offer free lunch to all students for 2021-2022 school year

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Northeast Independent School District will offer free meals to all students, regardless of family income level, for the upcoming school year.

In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the extension of universal free lunch waivers as well as other food security measures for an additional school year.

“Students’ success in the classroom goes hand in hand with their ability to access basic needs like healthy and nutritious meals,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in April. “It’s critical that our efforts to reopen schools quickly and safely include programs that provide access to free, healthy meals for our most vulnerable students, particularly those whose communities have been hardest hit by the pandemic. This program will ensure more students, regardless of their educational setting, can access free, healthy meals as more schools reopen their doors for in-person learning.”

NEISD officials said the district applied for the waiver and were granted the option to provide free meals for the upcoming school year. No application or eligibility determination is required.

The income eligibility requirement will likely resume in the 2022-2023 school year, district officials said.