HAVERHILL — Breakfast and lunch is free of charge to the roughly 600 children in the Haverhill Cooperative School District until they go on winter break in December.
The School Board unanimously voted at its Nov. 10 meeting to provide universal meals to the district’s students to help support families during the federal government shutdown. The free meals began Nov. 12, the same day the shutdown ended.
“The idea came around with the uncertainties around (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and I think the recognition of just a lot of general uncertainty and stress among families,” SAU23 Superintendent Dolores Fox said last week.
During the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, federal SNAP payments were paused.
SNAP provides people in lower income households with money to purchase food. The amount they receive each month is dependent on the size of their family, income level, monthly expenses and available resources, according to the New Hampshire Department of Human Services. About 7% of households in Haverhill use SNAP, according to data compiled by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.
As the shutdown dragged on, administrators began hearing more from educators who were worried students did not have access to food.
It will cost about $12,000 to fund the program, which will run through Dec. 19, Fox said. The money is coming from the general fund budget so there will be no additional cost to taxpayers.
The district has the funds available to pay for the meals because it has open positions right now, School Board Chairman David Robinson said.
“We were confident the money that would be used for this would be covered in our budget,” Robinson said in a phone interview last week.
School Board members supported the proposal after hearing stories about children who were coming to school without adequate meals.
“If they’re going to be learning, they need to be nourished,” Robinson said.
The Abbey Group, an Enosburg Falls, Vt.-based company, provides meals for the Haverhill School District. Beef tacos, “freshly baked” pizza and buffalo chicken dip with tortilla chips were among the main courses offered on the Woodsville Elementary School menu last week. Last week’s breakfast menu included fruit smoothies, an egg, ham and cheese English muffin and bagels with cream cheese.
The uncertainty surrounding federal funding for food benefits added additional stress for families as they prepared for the holiday season, which can be a difficult time financially.
“The hope is this gives a little respite, especially at this time of year where there are so many financial pressures put on families,” Fox said. “It’s one less thing to worry about.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the district received additional federal funding that they used for universal school meals for an entire year, Robinson said.
Afterward, they explored continuing the program, but it would have cost in excess of $100,000 a year. That proved to be untenable based on other budget increases the district was facing.
“Every school district, budgets are tough and they’re tight,” Robinson said.
New Hampshire stands in contrast to Vermont, where in 2023 the Legislature passed a law guaranteeing free meals to students, no matter their income level.
In order for students in New Hampshire to receive free and/or reduced school meals, families must either be enrolled in SNAP or fill out forms about their income.
In 2024, the New Hampshire Legislature rejected a bill that would have expanded access to reduced lunch in the state, according to an April 2024 New Hampshire Bulletin article.
In January, when students in Haverhill return to school, they will once again be asked to pay for their meals. A student breakfast costs $1.80 per day, but is free for those on a reduced lunch plan. Lunch costs $3 a day or 40 cents for those on a reduced lunch plan, according to the district menus.
Robinson emphasized that even without universal free meals the school district feeds any child who is in need, regardless of whether their family has an outstanding meal bill.
“We do not turn kids away from any meal if they have a balance,” Robinson said.