The Minnesota Department of Education’s Food and Nutrition Service is requiring Prior Lake High School to offer free breakfast and lunch as part of the state’s free lunch program.
District executive director of business services Lisa Rider said at a Monday school board meeting the state reassessed and changed its interpretation of participation in the National School Meals Program. Most schools opted to participate, though Prior Lake High School, along with Byron High School, was one of two schools in the state to decline in October 2024.
The Education Department’s new interpretation is that since Prior Lake High School’s expenses and revenues are in a restricted fund, they must follow the rules that the restricted fund defines, according to district child nutrition director Emily Malone. That includes participation in the program.
Rider said the district must come into compliance this year. The planned rollout for the program is Jan. 5 after students return from winter break. Prior Lake High School has offered breakfast, which will continue.
District superintendent Dr. Michael Thomas said the district is financially dependent on government programs, such as food co-ops, for affordable food. Those programs could be jeopardized if the district was non-compliant.
“I think we’ve been backed into a space where we have no choice but to comply,” Thomas said.
Lunch will soon be offered for free on school days and the menus will also be updated to meet the national school lunch requirements. Breakfast will continue to be offered during school days for free at the high school, but menus will be updated to meet the national school breakfast requirements.
Students can expect to see more meal lines and fewer a-la-carte options, Malone said.
District spokesperson Kristi Mussman said portion sizes will vary based on individual recipes and weekly meal pattern requirements. Paying extra for additional food will still be an option.
Malone said the district plans to start with primarily offering meals and will add more options to the a-la-carte line and coffee shop as they go. Portion sizes at the coffee shop will also see changes, such as no more than one shot of espresso and one pump of syrup per drink.
The state mandated schools enroll in the National Free Lunch Program during the 2023 legislative session. The federal government covers primarily low-income students while the state picks up the tab for all other students who do not meet federal requirements.
The law is designed to prevent stigma from school lunch shaming — providing sub-standard or no lunch to students with school lunch debt — and child food insecurity. Multiple studies have shown childhood hunger diminishes school performance.
PLSAS’ decision to reject the program came after the district did a test run of the required lunch menu for two weeks, offering meals that were similar to what would be offered under the program. The district then sent a survey to students, parents and staff asking whether or not they wanted to participate in the National Free Lunch Program.
The district said recipients were concerned with smaller portion sizes, lack of variety, unappetizing meals and mandatory meal components of unwanted food going to waste.
