Due to the expiration of a federal lunch fee waiver, which granted free breakfast and lunch to students, students will now have to pay for their breakfast and lunch for the 2022-23 school year throughout Chesterfield County.

Manchester High School students haven’t had to pay for school lunches for a couple of years. Even when they did have to pay, lunch prices were only $2.60. Lunches now cost $3. 

“We have no control over anything; it’s all run by the federal government.” MHS Principal Christy Ellis said. “There is a waiver parents or guardians can fill out to get free food, if you have a certain amount of kids or people in your household.

“There was only free food for the past couple years because of COVID,” Ellis said. “We also can’t  raise or lower the prices – it’s all run by the federal government. We are just here to serve the food the federal government gives us.”

She said the federal government makes all the decisions and local officials just pass that information down to the students and lunch staff.

There is a waiver that the student’s parents can fill out to pay a certain bill so their child can get free lunch. 

“We don’t have anything to do with the lunch prices or the quality of the food. It’s not run by us, it’s run by them,” said Wyatt Hicks, assistant principal at MHS.

Hicks said the school district  has no control over the lunch prices or anything about school lunches.

A member of the MHS lunch staff said, “Whatever changes the main office makes, they send it to us, and we put it out to the school. All decisions, pricing, menus, and any changes come from the main office.”