School lunch fee waiver aids Arizona students

Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kathy Hoffman, announced a month ago she is allocating $6.75 million in pandemic relief funds to help waive fees for kids who qualify for reduced fee school meals. Beginning in January, this investment will make school meals free for thousands of Arizona students who do not already qualify for federally funded free meals. The funding will last through the end of the 2023-2024 school year and will pay for over 2.2 million meals.

Here to talk about the impact this has on Arizona students is Sarah Martinelli, Clinical Associate Professor at ASU’s College of Health Solutions.

“Under normal circumstances, students can qualify for either free or reduced price meals based on their family income,” said Martinelli. “In this program, those students who qualify for reduced priced meals, will have those fees waived.”

To qualify for this reduced price program, family income must be between $36,000 and $51,000 per year.