school lunch

Students in metro school districts owe thousands more dollars in school lunch debt as families continue to financially recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In some districts, debt is even higher than last year.

New rules from the Biden administration will force most Kansas nursing homes to hire more staff, and owners aren’t happy. Plus: The USDA's new program SUN Bucks doles out $40 per month over the summer for each eligible child. However, 13 states turned down the funding.

The total lunch debt that students have accumulated in Kansas climbed to more than $23 million last year. Many school districts have policies that single out kids when they can’t afford to pay, but that can hurt families. Plus: Pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving?

The total lunch debt students have accumulated in Kansas climbed to more than $23 million last year. Many school districts have policies that single out kids when they can’t afford to pay, and a new report shows that can hurt families, even if those policies aren’t strictly enforced.

The report follows the end of the free federal school meals program, which paid for breakfast and lunch for students at all income levels from March 2020 through June 2022. Since the program ended, families in Kansas have experienced a six-fold increase in school meal debt.

A change in USDA policy will make it easier for schools to offer free meals to all students, but they will still have to pay for part of the cost. As a result, many Missouri districts will likely say no to the offer.

All students received free school meals during the pandemic. That ended after the 2021-22 school year, but several states in the Midwest have expanded access to school meals this school year.

Kansas City schools have seen student lunch debt soar since a pandemic-era universal free lunch program expired last fall. Now, there’s a push to make cafeterias welcoming for all students. Plus: Kansas teachers say student behavior has gotten much worse since the COVID pandemic.

After two years of free meals, students had to pay for lunch after starting this school year. Now, fewer students are buying lunch and meal debt is piling up for Kansas City area schools.

After the end of pandemic-era free school meals, kids in Midwest states are eating fewer lunches and meal debt is rising. Plus: After decades of inaction from Kansas leaders over the Ogallala Aquifer drying up, the state's approach to water conservation might finally be shifting.

A small town in northern Missouri was thrown into the headlines when an Amtrak train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago hit a dump truck at an unguarded crossing, killing four and injuring dozens more. Plus, the Kansas City-area farmers who are helping put fresh food on school lunch tables.

The KC Food Hub is seeing an uptick in schools buying from them after districts faced supply chain disruptions during the pandemic.