T-L Photo/SHELLEY HANSON MARTINS FERRY High School is shown on Friday morning. School children across the country will receive free lunch during the 2021-22 school year thanks to an extension of the program that began during the pandemic.

MARTINS FERRY — Parents and guardians of students who will attend Martins Ferry City Schools this coming fall got some good news in the mail recently.

A letter was sent by the district explaining all students — not just those who meet certain income guidelines — will be eligible for free lunch this coming school year.

Superintendent Jim Fogle said parents still must fill out the application, adding it is important to the district’s funding and reporting requirements.

“This program is offered through the United States Department of Agriculture. Districts must choose to report their claims through the Summer Seamless Option which allows the district to offer free meals to all students,” Fogle said.

The free meals for all is being made possible by an extension of the program that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic millions of people lost their jobs and needed help feeding their families. This included making sure all children got nutritious meals after they went back to the classroom in their respective states.

The waivers on free lunch eligibility have been extended through June 2022 for all public schools across the country.

“USDA will remain relentless in ensuring our nation’s children get the critical nutrition they need,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a press release. “States and districts wanted waivers extended to plan for safe reopening in the fall. USDA answered the call to help America’s schools and childcare institutions serve high quality meals while being responsive to their local needs as children safely return to their regular routines.”

Vilsack noted the extension also “increases the reimbursement rate to school meal operators so they can serve healthy foods to our kids.”

Fogle added, “It is very important for all families to fill out a lunch application regardless if they think they will qualify or not. This will also be used for any future (pandemic electronic benefit transfer) payments during the school year.”

All students at Martins Ferry already received free breakfast items to eat each morning before class. Breakfast will continue to be free as well.