OISD urges families to apply for free and reduced lunch

Chef Ryan Bedell looked over his sizzling wok and urged his customer to choose a meal from among a bright array of fresh vegetables sitting in chilled bowls in front of him. The diner - an Olney High School student - pointed to carrots, snow peas, and broccoli. Minutes later, Chef Bedell handed over a hot, nutritious meal and looked down the tray line to his next customer at the Olney Independent School District cafeteria.

A made-to-order meal like this costs $3.50 at the OISD cafeteria, but parents who apply for the federal government’s free and reduced lunch program could pay anywhere from 40 cents to nothing, said OISD Chief Financial Officer Tim Orsak.

About 65 percent of the OISD student body qualified for the program this year, but there were “numerous” families who could have qualified but did not apply by the Oct. 28 deadline, he said. Families of four with incomes of less than $51,338 qualify for reduced lunches, and families of four with incomes of less than $36,075 qualify for free lunches, he said.

“We would have thought it would have been a few percentage points higher but we just know that some parents have yet to complete the forms,” he said.

Mr. Orsak is hoping to get the numbers up in the next school year by letting parents know the profound effect the meal program has on the students and the district’s revenue.

“Once a student is classified for free and reduced lunches, we actually receive additional funding from [federal] grant programs,” he said. “This also affects the amount of state compensatory education funds that a district will receive and is the driving factor with regards to the reimbursement rate for the … technology program offered by the Federal Communications Commission [for] the district’s internet costs and telecommunications costs.” But the bottom line is not the only reason the district wants to encourage students to use the cafeteria. Two years ago, OISD hired Walker Quality Services of Houston to help cafeteria staff create appealing and nutritious meals for students – and it’s working, Mr. Orsak said. Olney schools have worked hard to integrate a free breakfast into the students’ schedules as well, he said.

“We are averaging over 400 breakfasts served per day. Lunches are running around 400 to 420 plus an additional 100 to 150 individual entrees,” he said. All students are eligible for free breakfasts, which consist of everything from pigs-in-a-blanket to kolaches to cereal. About 65 percent of Olney High School students eat breakfast at school, he said.

On a recent school day, the cafeteria offered freshbaked pizza, chicken sandwiches with curly fries, orange chicken meatballs and veggies, and salads. The selection and presentation of the meals have made OISD one of his company’s top-performing accounts, said Chef Bedell, who works for Walker Quality Services, said.

OISD is unusual in offering five meal selections daily, “which most small schools don’t do,” he said. The district also rates highly in the number of students who eat at the cafeteria, and by food cost and performance, he said. “If you don’t put it out nice they won’t eat it,” he said. “There’s a lot more to it than people know as far as feeding kids,” he said.