COVID-19 meal waivers (2020-2022)
During the pandemic, the USDA let schools serve free meals to every student, no income check needed. The waivers expired in June 2022, and families had to return to paid tiers or reapply for free or reduced-price meals.
Many families above the free-meal income line suddenly owed money again, and school meal debt climbed across the country.
The waiver's end reset the income-based system, and districts in Utah and elsewhere are still working down debt accumulated since.
Utah's debt grew from $2.8 million to $3.8 million in the two years after the waivers ended, which is what the new plate is trying to offset.
