ATTENTION: Due to Governor Brown's directive restricting non-essential school activities, this event has been cancelled/postponed to a future date. We hope to bring it back before long.
The Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA) and the Oregon Department of Education are establishing April 6-10, 2020 as Oregon School Lunch Week to celebrate this vital part of students’ day.
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 April 6-10 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, your visit 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 #OregonSchoolLunchWeek 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 your visit 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 starting in the 2020-21 school year.
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.
For more information about Oregon School Lunch Week, please E-mail: ODE Nutrition Programs.