Back-to-School Nutrition: Resource Refresher for the 2022-2023 School Year

Thank you to the many school districts and community organizations serving summer meals to ensure kids are well-fed during the break from school, and ready to learn when they return in the fall. In these last weeks of summer, we encourage sponsors, sites, and community partners to continue robust outreach, and to share your stories and photos of best practices with us, so we can amplify your success and grow summer meals in the years to come. 

As you prepare for the school year, the following resources and strategies can help you navigate the return to standard operations, communicate with families, and improve the reach of your programs.

Return to "Standard Operations"

After two school years, school meal applications and direct certification are back on the table this year. To support the transition, review our top resources here:

Simplify How You Certify Kids for Free Meals: Prioritize Direct Certification 

With the return to standard F/RP school meal applications, direct certification should always be the first step in establishing student economic need. Strong direct certification reduces the administrative burden on both schools and families, since it cuts down the number of applications to submit, collect, and process in order to feed students at no cost. Upgrade your direct certification strategies with our tipsheet. 

Improve Your Communications with Families: Start with our School Meals Application Toolkit

Federal waivers that allowed free school meals for all students ended in June 2022, which means schools must shift back to collecting school meal applications. Hunger Solutions New York and No Kid Hungry New York designed a toolkit to support this process. Watch our short tour of resources to learn how your school can effectively:

• Encourage families to submit a F/RP school meal application.
• Communicate the benefits of submitting household income information through a F/RP school meal application.
• Improve the return rate of F/RP school meal applications.

Connect With Other Schools: Join No Kid Hungry’s upcoming webinar to learn which strategies can boost application turn-around

No Kid Hungry’s Center on Best Practices will be hosting a webinar “Strategies for Collecting Free and Reduced-Price Meal Applications: Leveraging Outreach and Promotion” on Thursday, August 18^th from 2-3pm. 

Webinar Description: The importance of Free & Reduced Price Meal Applications cannot be understated this school year. Join us to learn about tips and tools to inform families about the application, and hear from school nutrition directors who are using their creativity and connections to reach families. Register here. 

Opportunities for Growth

School breakfast and afterschool meals are proven strategies that improve access to nutrition while generating additional revenue for school nutrition programs. Learn how to leverage these important programs to grow your school meal program this year.

Elevate Your Breakfast Program: Highlight the benefits of breakfast to your school administration and community

School Breakfast reduces hunger and sets students on a trajectory toward success in the classroom and beyond. Students who eat school breakfast are more likely to attend school, be better learners, and are more willing to participate in the classroom.

Expand Access to School Meals: Offer Breakfast After the Bell

Traditional breakfast—served in the cafeteria before the school day begins—often has low participation due to factors ranging from tight schedules to concerns about stigma. Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) addresses these barriers to make the morning meal more accessible. Our BAB factsheet can help schools choose which BAB model is right for their program. 

Review the Legislation: Certain schools are required to offer Breakfast After the Bell

Under the Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) legislation, high-poverty public schools — defined as schools with 70% or more students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals — are required to provide BAB. That said, any interested school can opt into serving breakfast after the school day begins.

For additional school breakfast resources, check out No Kid Hungry’s Center on Best Practices resources.

Add a Meal to Your Afterschool Program: Support kids’ learning and your school’s nutrition programs

With many schools planning to start or expand afterschool programming this school year, it’s a great time to consider serving afterschool meals. Eligible schools can receive reimbursement – currently $4.03/meal or $1.18/snack – through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). While schools can already serve afterschool snacks through NSLP, CACFP provides an opportunity for complete meals, which provide greater nutrition for students and a higher reimbursement for your meal programs. We can help you learn more and get started

We are here to help!

Need support planning for a smooth start to the new year? Reach out to our team of experts for a tailored plan that’s right for your school!

• Krista Hesdorfer | Hunger Solutions New York
• Jessica Pino-Goodspeed | Hunger Solutions New York
• Francesca DiGiorgio | Hunger Solutions New York
• Rachel Sabella | No Kid Hungry - New York

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