Local Schools Ready To Open Under Minnesota’s New Free Meals Program

WRENSHALL, Minn. — Local schools are ready to open under Minnesota’s new free meals program.

This year, free breakfast and lunch will be available to all students. The State will also pick up the tab for students who do not qualify for free lunch under federal guidelines.

Wrenshall is a local rural school district where over half of the students received free lunch last year. Superintendent Jeff Pesta tells us providing free meals is crucial for the families that the district serves. Free food, however, doesn’t always mean healthy food.

Under the State program, it is possible to buy unhealthy snacks instead of a full meal. But Pesta says this won’t happen at Wrenshall being that it’s a smaller district, he says, students can only select a full meal or bring food from home.

“That can be a concern when there is a free lunch and somebody doesn’t use it, they can get chips and Gatorade and whatever. Here, the food that is available for them will be the supported program meeting all the requirements for nutritious meal. That’s the only option they have other than bringing their own food here. We should have very high participation rates meaning less food is thrown away, so it can be a real plus for a small rural school like this,” said Jeff Pesta, Wrenshall Superintendent.

Wrenshall anticipates more than 350 K-12 students this school year.