Kearney School District Families,

We want to make you aware of how the ongoing federal government shutdown may impact school meal programs and to reassure you about what this means for your student.

As you may know, the federal government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1, which is the start of the federal fiscal year. The shutdown will end when Congress approves a budget or passes a short-term funding measure. That process appears to have started, but it’s unclear how long it will take to complete.

Here’s what this means for school meals right now:

School meals are continuing. Our cafeterias will stay open and continue serving breakfast and lunch. Programs such as the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program are expected to keep operating during this shutdown.

Families who are experiencing a loss of income may now qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Many federal employees and contractors are currently not receiving pay. A sudden change in income (furlough, reduction in hours, etc.) may make your household eligible for free or reduced-price school meals, even if you did not qualify before. You can apply for meal benefits at any time during the school year. If your financial situation has changed, we strongly encourage you to complete a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application. This helps ensure your student continues to have access to healthy meals at school.

SNAP (food assistance) is also being affected at the state level. Some families qualify for free or reduced meals due to being eligible for SNAP benefits. Missouri has indicated that it will not be approving new applications for SNAP benefits in November during the shutdown period. Families who already qualified for SNAP or similar programs such as TANF before November should remain eligible, and those students should continue to receive meal benefits at school.

Please be assured that we will continue to serve meals to students. We are monitoring federal and state guidance closely, and we will communicate with you if anything changes that directly affects students’ access to meals. There are resources available in our community for families that need support. We encourage you to contact your school if you would like to learn more.

Email our team if you have questions about meal eligibility. We know that unexpected financial stress can hit families quickly. Our top priority is making sure every KSD student has access to meals at school, every day. To help, please see the list of resources below that are available for families who need extra support. Thank you for your partnership on behalf of our students!

Resources:

School Support
Call your school’s social worker (816-628-2651) if you would like your child to receive a weekly Backsnack or shopping opportunity at the school’s food pantries. You can also reach out to them if you have concerns about affording school meals.

Second Harvest Community Food Bank

• Pantry Locator
• Food Distribution Events
• For more information, visit Second Harvest Community Food Bank

• Pantry Locator
• For more information, visit the Harvesters website

• Feeding Missouri is a coalition of the six Missouri Food Banks working to provide hunger relief to every county (and St. Louis City) in the state. Collectively, we distribute over 120 million pounds of food each year through a network of more than 1,500 community feeding programs.
• Get help here by entering your location information, and the Feeding Missouri Food Finder will direct you to services nearest you.
• For more information, visit Feeding Missouri