A recent move by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend federal summer meals programs to Dec. 31 means all Warren County Public Schools students will receive free breakfast and lunch, the district recently announced.

The change means “meals will be provided free to all students, including students attending Jody Richards Elementary, Plano Elementary, Rich Pond Elementary, Greenwood High School and South Warren Middle and South Warren High School,” the district told parents and guardians in a Sept. 11 memo.

Those schools were not previously covered under universal free breakfast and lunch, according to Gina Howard, WCPS’ director of food services and nutrition.

The change means that thousands of additional students in the district will receive meals at no charge, Howard said.

“It’s approximately 5,000 students that we’re extending these benefits to,” she told the Daily News. “We were very happy to see that come about.”

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the change Aug. 31.

“As our nation reopens and people return to work, it remains critical our children continue to receive safe, healthy and nutritious food,” Perdue said in a news release announcing the change. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA has provided an unprecedented amount of flexibilities to help schools feed kids through the school meal programs, and today, we are also extending summer meal program flexibilities for as long as we can, legally and financially.”

Perdue said the flexibility will enable schools to provide meals to students regardless of how they’re attending school, be it virtually or in-person.

“We appreciate the incredible efforts by our school food service professionals year in and year out, but this year we have an unprecedented situation. This extension of summer program authority will employ summer program sponsors to ensure meals are reaching all children – whether they are learning in the classroom or virtually – so they are fed and ready to learn, even in new and ever-changing learning environments,” Perdue said.

The Bowling Green Independent School District also participates in the USDA’s summer meals programs, but it was already offering universal free breakfast and lunch to its students.

At the start of the 2019-20 school year, the district extended those benefits to all of its students, a move made possible by expanding the Community Eligibility Provision of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The initiative continues this year.

– Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @BGDN_edbeat or visit bgdailynews.com.