National School Lunch Week

Oregon Celebrates National School Lunch Week 2022

The week of October 10-14 is National School Lunch Week and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA) are teaming up to raise awareness of the importance of child nutrition programs in schools.

Research shows students that are nourished properly at school

• perform better academically
•  behave better in the classroom

School board members are encouraged to eat with students during the week of October 10 – 14 to see for themselves the healthy and tasty options and experience the social benefits of public school lunches. As community leaders with influence and goodwill in the school district, school board member visits will help show support for this critical program, and help Oregon Schools spread awareness of the availability of a healthy school lunch!

School board members and schools are encouraged to post to social media using the #NSLW22inOR hashtag and tag the ODE (@ORDeptEd) and OSBA (@OSBANews) twitter handles.

Make sure to reach out to your school nutrition staff and building administrators prior to visiting, so they can be prepared for your visit and to also let you know the cost of an adult lunch and how to order/pay.

Background

The National School Lunch Program, started in 1946, delivers funding for nearly 100,000 schools and institutions to serve lunches nationwide to almost 30 million students a day, including more than 20 million free lunches. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses schools for each meal served based on family incomes as well as provides healthy and nutritious foods via the USDA Foods program.

In Oregon, 49% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, and in 2018-19 more than 45 million school lunches were delivered to Oregon students. The state Legislature has endorsed the value of school meals, including approximately $42 million in the Student Success Act this biennium for expanded school nutrition programs.

A 2017 state law also removed the stigma about being able to afford a healthy meal by requiring that Oregon schools provide a meal to any student who asks; schools cannot ask for payment.

More information about National School Lunch Week or Oregon's School Nutrition Programs can be found online.