About a dozen Montlake Elementary students spent Tuesday afternoon as unofficial cafeteria consultants, working through a spread of dishes the district is weighing for future menus—a lineup ranging from teriyaki salmon and vegetable yakisoba to Hawaiian-style beef stew. The kids weren’t the only ones getting a taste of what the district will be feeding students in its new universal free meals program. Mayor Katie Wilson, who was instrumental in pushing funding for the free meals, and SPS Superintendent Ben Shuldiner were right there with them.
Taste testing Seattle Public School’s new universal free meals menu (Photo courtesy of Seattle Public Schools)
Roughly half of SPS’s 106 schools were already serving free meals to every student through existing state and federal programs before this week, according to SPS. According to the Mayor’s office,, that meant about 6,800 students in schools not serving free meals universally were falling through the cracks of food insecurity. The new policy fills that gap districtwide, guaranteeing one free breakfast and one free lunch per student per day no matter where they attend or what their family earns.
When the Seattle City Council approved funding for the meals, Council President Joy Hollingsworth called it an important step in closing gaps in food insecurity and affording all families dignity: “Expanding food access through school breaks and weekends is vital to supporting children and families,” Hollingsworth said. “This targeted approach helps close food gaps by providing grocery access to families facing the greatest barriers while building on the foundation of school meals. This investment gives families the dignity to choose the foods that best meet their household’s nutritional, cultural, and dietary needs while helping stretch family budgets during the times when school meals are unavailable.”
Wilson made providing all students free meals a top priority since entering office. She hopes the program relieves any free meal stigma for kids and that families who didn’t previously meet an income criterion for assistance but still struggled will feel relief knowing their kids are getting at least two healthy meals a day.
(Photo courtesy of Seattle Public Schools)
City funding covers the program only through 2029, when Washington’s newly created tax on high earners is set to pick up the cost — assuming it survives a November repeal vote and a constitutional challenge now in court. Seattle put up roughly $8.3 million this summer through a mix of an education levy voters approved and leftover money from a Northgate housing project. Wilson has been adamant that she will find a way to keep the program running in Seattle even if the state tax doesn’t pan out.
