skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

RFK Jr. taps eight new members for CDC's vaccine advisory panel; CO communities to join national 'No Kings' protests Saturday; End of hospital emergency abortion care rule will affect rural KY women; LIHEAP cuts could put lives at risk in rural AL, advocates warn.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

White House says there will be more ICE raids, as protests spread across the county. California Gov. Newsom says democracy is at a crossroads, and Elon Musk says he 'regrets' social media posts about President Trump.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

EV charging stations are harder to find in rural America, improving the mental health of children and teachers is the goal of a new partnership in seven rural states, and a once segregated Mississippi movie theater is born again.

KY School Nutrition Directors Face Red-Tape Hurdles Feeding Kids

play audio
Play

Tuesday, February 28, 2023   

Red tape and other hurdles are getting in the way, especially for those children who aren't getting nutritious meals at home, the people in charge of keeping kids fed in Kentucky schools said.

Leah Feagin, Nutrition Director at Mayfield Independent Schools, said administrative burdens and differing guidelines for federal programs have left her with mounds of paperwork, including having to provide attendance rosters in order to feed kids after-school snacks and supper, which she says is time-consuming.

"Why are we having to jump through all these hoops when, if I'm doing this for breakfast and lunch, I'm obviously going to do this for snack and supper? I'm not going to do it a different way," Feagin said.

Groups fighting childhood hunger are rallying today at the State Capitol in Frankfort for state policies that would give schools more flexibility to offer meals to kids, boost safety-net programs like SNAP and WIC, and expand the state's Farms to Food Banks program.

Cassidy Wheeler, advocacy coordinator at Feeding Kentucky, pointed out because pandemic-era "free meals for all kids" policies have ended, not all students qualify for school meals, leaving the school districts with lower reimbursement rates.

"Their budgets are really suffering, you know," Wheeler said. "They're having a really hard time being able to serve nutritious meals that meet all of the USDA standards, because they just don't have the money for it."

Feagin said many children come to school in the morning on an empty stomach, go without lunch, and added those kids will remain hungry, unless they eat at school.

"My problem is those parents that aren't sending food for their kids. So, if I quit offering the program, I know those kids are being missed - and that's hard to contend with," Feagin said.

Nationwide, almost 1.5-million children regularly received an after-school supper through Afterschool Nutrition Programs, according to 2020 data from the Food Research and Action Center.

Disclosure: Feeding Kentucky contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Children's Issues, Hunger/Food/Nutrition. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The temporary permitting process at Hobbs State Park includes specific collection zones, boundaries and safety requirements. Only dead trees impacted by the 2024 storm may be removed. (Kit Leong/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As the cleanup effort continues at Hobbs State Park Conservation Area in Rogers, officials with Arkansas State Parks have authorized a temporary …


Social Issues

play sound

June is Pride Month, and Washington's Lavender Rights Project is celebrating with a Black Trans Comedy Showcase. This is the largest fundraiser of …

Social Issues

play sound

Protests are planned this Saturday throughout Arizona as organizers mobilize a "nationwide day of defiance" against what they're calling the Trump adm…


Nationwide, nearly 70% of rural counties lack a single obstetric hospital, according to a 2024 March of Dimes report. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Abortion rights advocates in Kentucky are concerned as the Department of Health and Human Services has revoked a policy requiring hospitals to provide…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Indiana University now trains police academy recruits in Deaf culture awareness and basic American Sign Language. The program aims to improve …

Consumer advocates warned Florida Power & Light's proposed rate increase would mean its customers would be locked into supporting natural gas over cleaner, price-stable alternatives, like solar energy. (Silberfuchs/Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

Florida Power & Light's request for a nearly $9 billion rate hike, possibly the largest in state history, has sparked concern about the potential …

Environment

play sound

June is World Oceans Month and California environmental groups are highlighting advances in zero-emission shipping. International shipping emits …

Environment

play sound

California companies making compostable packaging materials said their products could make a huge dent in the problem of plastic pollution but only wi…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021