Excessive costs in free lunch program alerts Santa Barbara school officials

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Santa Barbara Unified School District has been recognized for its healthy food program for years but these days it  has a form of financial indigestion over the costs run up on food services linked to the free meal program.

The estimated debt of $1.3 million dollars has been blamed on labor costs and for providing meals to kids who are not low income.

That food distribution error is happening at six schools.
The district says proposed changes will not cut food from the kids who need it, but an appropriate and quick response is needed.

The Districts Fiscal Services Director Meg Jette said at a recent meeting, "we do not intend to stop the feeding the children who qualify for free and reduced (meals)."  In noting the costs just for October used in an example she said, "we can not sustain spending almost $103,000 a month feeding children who do not qualify for the free breakfast."

 The school district also says it has a fleet of mobile cafes and four should be taken out. "Some of these mobile cafes sit around half the day," said Jette. 

At a recent school board meeting the problem was served up but  reductions to make money saving cuts immediately were stopped for more review also to make sure partnerships like the food for the United  Boys and Girls Club during the school break isn't cut off.

"If there's no school for those kids for a lot of them if this food program is cut certainly for a lot of them there's no breakfast and there's no lunch for a lot of these kids. They are not eating," said  Michael Baker with the United Boys & Girls Club.   "I hope this isn't just a spread sheet decision. These are people we are talking about, real people. I deal with this every single day. " ​
 A new Food Services Director is being hired and labor costs will likely be cut but an employee representative warned against acting too quickly.

Vice President of the School Employee Association Ken Rivas said no decision should be made,  "without understanding the hardship it is going to cause to the kids that are eating and the employees that we are going to lost because it's apparent there will have to be layoffs if programs are cut." 

One parent, Holly Gil said the healthy food program helps all students, not just the low income.   "There are a lot of kids who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch but they are not eating as well,"

The financial problems go back months and the school board admits it...

"This makes me feel real badly because we share part of the responsibility," said School Board Trustee Kate Ford.

Going forward it appears providing food assistance for kids and cutting excessive costs appears to be the priority

"Our schools are the reliant place for food and for thriving and to be able to learn and these little bodies to be given a chance," said School Board Trustee Laura Capps.