The New Westminster school district is once again working to make sure every child enjoys a proper lunch at school this fall.
School District 40 is launching its Fuel Up lunch program for the 2023/24 school year with a new provider, the Lunch Lady — and, in preparation for the change-over, it’s asking families who need support with the cost to reapply for its subsidy program.
Fuel Up offers daily lunches at all elementary and middle schools in the district.
Families receive a monthly menu featuring a different selection of hot and cold options each day, and they can opt in to as many lunches as they choose. The program helps to provide stigma-free meals for everyone; students in a classroom don’t know whose meals are subsidized and whose aren’t.
Demand for lunches and subsidies has grown quickly over the past few years.
The number of lunches ordered more than doubled between 2020-21 and 2022-23, according to numbers presented at a school board meeting in June.
In 2020-21, the district saw 41,151 lunches ordered; in 2022-23, that number was expected to hit 86,454. Of those, 17,422 lunches were subsidized in 2020-21; in 2022-23, the number of subsidized lunches was projected to hit 46,950.
A letter from the school district notes families who need subsidies for the coming year can fill out an application form online; the confidential form is reviewed by the principal and approved by the district.
Anyone who hands in a subsidy application before Sept. 5 will receive confirmation and their account and log-in information by Sept. 8.
All families in the district, subsidized or otherwise, will receive followup information before Sept. 8 to guide them through setting up a new Fuel Up account.
Lunch deliveries will start on Tuesday, Sept. 19.
The menu will include diverse options that account for a variety of dietary restrictions, with vegetarian, egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and Halal offerings.
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