This week, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) announced it would no longer participate in a federal policy option that allows certain schools with longer-than-standard school days to serve federally reimbursed meals to students during the extended portion of the day. This policy option helps schools make sure children who stay later for additional instruction, tutoring, enrichment, or other learning opportunities have access to food before they go home. The following statement is attributable to Chris Bernard, president and CEO of Hunger Free Oklahoma.
Hunger Free Oklahoma is disappointed by OSDE’s decision to discontinue the CACFP At-Risk extended learning time policy option. This flexibility helps schools use federal nutrition funds to make sure children have enough to eat during longer school days at no additional cost to the state.
The timing of this decision is especially concerning. Most schools have already begun the school year, and schools made plans based on the expectation that this longstanding option would remain available. Taking it away now creates unnecessary disruption for schools and risks taking meals away from children.
This decision also comes at a time when Oklahoma families are facing growing pressure on their grocery budgets. Already, 56,000 fewer Oklahoma children are able to access SNAP since the passage of federal H.R. 1.
This was not a decision OSDE was required to make. The federal option remains available and other paths could have been explored to address implementation challenges while continuing to support schools and students. Administrative complexity is not a good reason to end this flexibility that helps schools ensure students have a healthy meal at the end of the day. We should be demonstrating to Oklahoma children that when something is difficult, we collaborate to identify effective solutions, rather than just giving up.
We urge OSDE to reconsider this decision and work with schools, community partners, and federal officials to preserve the extended learning time option for Oklahoma children.