With the 2022 school year up and running, there are some mixed feelings about whether or not free lunch should be a permanent change. 

In 2020, most U.S. K-12 school buildings were shut down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. With this challenge being presented, the USDA granted waivers to make all public school lunches free for all kids regardless of their parents’ Income. With these waivers expiring, most public schools are taking away that benefit. Many students have mixed feelings about this decision, and many say they aren’t affected.

Junior Tyree Jones commented on how this change affects him and others.

“This change affects literally everyone I know, I support the move to bring free lunch back,” Jones said.

Many people are confused about this change; many students think that no longer providing free lunches is a  Parkway change but it’s not. Whatever the government’s goal Is for doing this It is unclear, but for some, the goal is easy to see.

“I think the goal for the government doing this Is to get/save more money. Since people are starting to recuperate from COVID, the government doesn’t need to aid them anymore,” junior Isabella Pena said.

Pena made remarks on why the change is necessary.

“People have jobs now, and with that are bringing In more money to support themselves again,” she said.

Now that students are back to paying $3.25 for their lunch every day, some students, like junior Theo Seago, wonder if Parkway could improve the quality of the food. 

“I think that It has potential to become better. I don’t know if they’re actually going to, but I think that they definitely could If they wanted to,” Seago said.

Here’s what junior Noah Adou had to say about the equality of this change.

“I don’t think that it’s fair because there’s some people that can only get food at school, so for them to cut off the funding without thinking about those people, is unfair,” Adou said

Another student, sophomore Ian Banks, added input on the equality of this situation.

“Low-income homes and people going through stuff, I don’t think its fair. Some kids are going through stuff that we might not even know, and some kids are not even eating lunch,” Banks said.