Nashville school district to cut back universal free lunch

Metro Nashville Public Schools is rolling back a federal program that provides free lunch to all students, The Tennessean reports.

While students at all schools in the Nashville district currently receive free lunch, regardless of income, only 74 schools will offer access to free school lunch next year. Families at the remaining schools must submit paperwork to apply for free or reduced-priced meals.

Officials decided to pare down the program after the district recorded a lower number of students qualifying for federal assistance programs than expected. When the district first applied for the program in 2014, 60% of the student body qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. Today, the percentage has dropped to just under 50%, meaning the government won’t cover as much of the cost to run the program. The district says it would have to spend $8 million to continue to offer universal free lunch.

The district will continue to provide free breakfast to all students next year.

Read the full story via tennessean.com.