RPA celebrates National School Lunch Week, Oct. 9-13
RPA is proud to celebrate National School Lunch Week this week. 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.
“National School Lunch Week is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the great meals offered in Oregon’s schools,” ODE Director of Child Nutrition Dustin Melton said. “And to celebrate the wonderful Child Nutrition staff in every school that ensures healthy meals are provided to Oregon’s kids each school day.”
In 2022-23, over 39 million school lunches were served to Oregon students. The state legislature has endorsed the value of school meals, including funding in the Student Success Act, this biennium for expanded school nutrition programs.
As you may know, RPA implemented the Provision 2 school meals program this year. Provision 2 allows all RPA students to eat meals provided at school at no cost to families. This school year is our “base year” for determining the cost of Provision 2 to RPA. The more families that apply and qualify for meal benefits, the less this initiative will cost RPA. RPA is committed to providing free meals to all our students, and we thank all our families who have applied for meal benefits via the Redmond School District (RSD) website. If you have yet to apply for meal benefits, please complete the application on the RSD Nutrition website today.
“Good nutrition is a necessary part of a good learning system,” said OSBA President Sonja McKenzie. “Oregon schools play a vital role in feeding hundreds of thousands of students every weekday, and for some households provide a main barrier against hunger.”
More information about National School Lunch Week and Oregon’s School Nutrition Programs can be found online.
