New Guidelines for Free and Reduced Priced School Meals

BALTIMORE, Md. (KK) According to the Maryland State Department of Education’s website, last year, more than 400,000 students across the state were approved for the free and reduced school lunch programs.

This coming school year, that number could change because the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently changed the guidelines to qualify for the programs.

“Every year the U.S. Department of Agricuture, which runs the free and reduced meals program, rearranges the eligilibility based on income and based on the budget they have for the programs,” said Maryland State Department of Education spokesman Bill Reinhard.

“The family has to be at 130% of poverty to receive free meals and 185% poverty for reduced priced meals. Those are fairly similar to last years as I understand it, but because of inflation those numbers have gone up slightly.”

A family of four can qualify if their annual household income is less than $31,980.

BY: Kylie Kahn