TREY CAVANAH Complementary and reduced-price breakfast and lunch for school children is a wellknown program administered through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Before the COVID- 19 Pandemic, free or reduced-price meals were usually only available to students who met income requirements. From March 2020 through the 20212022 school year, all students were offered free meals at school because of waivers issued through the USDA. Nearly 1 million Missouri students ate free for almost two years. On September 30, 2022, the USDA pandemic waiver that had allowed Missouri students to eat school meals for free expired. The 2022-2023 School Year was challenging for local and nationwide schools as they emerged from a very strange pandemic. Most school districts faced personnel shortages, instructional challenges, financial changes and stagnant health protocols, and once again, started charging for meal service for students. Many school districts have slowly returned to…