After nearly 10-Year Hiatus, Sag Harbor School District Is Part of National School Lunch Program Again

For the first time since 2014, the Sag Harbor School District is participating in the National School Lunch Program, the USDA’s federally assisted meal program that operates in many public and nonprofit private schools, as well as child care facilities.

The program was established during the Harry Truman presidency in 1946 under the National School Lunch Act, and since then has been the main vehicle in many districts across the country for providing nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches and even breakfast to children each day.

During a presentation at the most recent Board of Education meeting on Monday night, December 4, Business Administrator Jennifer Buscemi and other district officials, including Superintendent of Schools Jeff Nichols, school cook manager Jennifer Brandt and consultant Maryann Metzak, spoke about the district’s history of involvement in the program, why it was not part of the program for several years, and what being accepted into the program again this year will mean for the district, students and their families in terms of cost, menu options and more.

The district first started serving lunch to its students in the mid-1990s, but in 2015 an audit done on behalf of the National School Lunch Program revealed several “shortcomings” in the district’s adherence to its guidelines, according to Nichols.

At that point, the district was given the option of either reimbursing the program for the three years it was found to not be in compliance, or to drop out of the program, with the understanding that it could reapply again at a later date. The district chose the latter, because it was not equipped at the time to follow those guidelines properly, and spent several years putting together its own lunch program, before reapplying recently and being accepted for the current school year.

Buscemi’s presentation outlined how, in the past several years, not participating in the program has cost the district money, because its expenditures for providing school lunches have been higher than the revenue it brings in.

Annual transfers from the general fund have made up the difference over the years. Since the 2018-19 school year, the difference between revenue and expenditures has ranged from $52,033 to $210,547 annually. Last year, the district had to transfer just over $80,000 from the general fund to make up the difference.

“If we were in the program, we probably would’ve broken even,” Buscemi pointed out during the presentation.

By participating in the program again, not only will the district save money every year, but it could potentially become eligible at some point for the Community Eligibility Provision. Under that provision, any district where at least 25 percent of the student population automatically qualifies for free or reduced lunch is entitled to free breakfast and lunch daily for the entire student population, regardless of income status.

Right now, only 22 percent of the population in the Sag Harbor School District qualifies, although several more who apply for free or reduced lunch are receiving it, even if they did not automatically apply. Under law, those who had to apply cannot count toward the percentage total.

Until this year, 40 percent of students or more needed to qualify for free or reduced lunch for the entire district to receive free meals. The change this year has meant that many nearby districts, like East Quogue, Westhampton Beach and others, can now offer free breakfast and lunch daily to their entire student population.

Because the district is only a few percentage points away from qualifying, it’s possible it may qualify in the future, but being part of the National School Lunch Program is a prerequisite.

Participating in the NSLP entails following the guidelines the program sets forth, when it comes to nutritional standards, staff training and more. Because of that, the district has had to make some changes to its menu items, most notably its a la carte and snack items available for purchase.

For parents or students who are worried that participation in the program could result in lower-quality food on the menu, Nichols said he doesn’t believe it will be an issue, especially after he spoke with Metzak, a school lunch consultant with Simple Wellness Solutions, who was on hand via Zoom during the board meeting.

“The ingredients would be of similar quality, if not better,” Nichols said during the meeting, adding that that was his takeaway after speaking with Metzak.

Metzak and others added that if the new a la carte items prove to be unpopular with students, the school has the option to try out different items, provided they follow the same nutritional guidelines.

There are other benefits to participating in the NSLP as well, Buscemi pointed out in her presentation. As part of the New York State Farm to School Initiative, the state reimbursement to schools that purchase at least 30 percent of their ingredients for the school lunch program from New York State farms is 25 cents per meal, rather than 5.9 cents per meal.

While menu item choice and food quality is a discussion that Nichols said can be ongoing, he said that participating in the NSLP was something he and other officials felt was simply the right thing to do, for a number of reasons.

“I believe it’s the district’s responsibility to make sure that we make ourselves eligible for these types of things,” he said.