Warwick Public Schools has emerged from the darkness of a national nightmare into the promising light of hope – creating a new assistance program to help vulnerable members of the community afford school lunches when times get tough.

School Finance Director Anthony Ferrucci reported that, as of Monday, all debt incurred by students on free and reduced lunch programs (around $15,000) has been paid off, and an additional $134,000 in donations received from various sources has been earmarked for MAPS, which stands for Meal Assistant Program for Students, which will operate through Westbay Community Action.

It’s a wholesome ending to a story that began as anything but back in April, when the district faced national scorn for its proposed policy to restrict lunch choices of students who incurred lunch debt – and whose parents failed to communicate with the school to rectify the situation – to a sun butter and jelly sandwich. The district, at the time, was facing over $78,000 in unpaid lunch bills, the majority of which was accrued by students not on free or reduced lunch programs.

Although Warwick was not the only district in the state to ponder implementing such a policy (some actually already had the policy in action), the issue nonetheless caught the attention of national news media when a local small business owner ran into resistance while trying to donate money to the district and exploded from there, igniting a conversation about restrictive lunch policies and resulting in donations from private companies, morning talk shows, GoFundMe fundraisers and individuals from all over the country.

The district took the opportunity to figure out how to best utilize the unexpected windfall, and as a result talked with Westbay to see about setting up a lunch assistance program – one that would go beyond the stringent boundaries of the federal free and reduced lunch program, as many noted that simply not being on a free and reduced lunch plan didn’t necessarily mean a family was financially stable.

Now the program is ready to go, according to Ferrucci. He mentioned that the Aramark Corporation has offered to hold two fundraisers annually to support the program, so that it will remain funded and not simply be drained within a year or two.

“This is going to be reoccurring, it's sustainable,” he said. “We're talking about paying it forward. Folks who take advantage of it, hopefully they will be in a position going forward where they can contribute to it and keep it funded.”

Ferrucci noted that those who still have lunch debt, or incur new debt going forward, would not automatically have their debt erased through the program. They will have to apply through Westbay for relief. He said that a letter has been sent out to those owing money alerting them of the program.

Paul Salera, President and CEO of Westbay Community Action, was happy that the program is well-funded and emphasized that all proceeds from donations have gone into a separate account within Westbay with nothing taken out for other expenses.

“We're super happy to be helping the city,” he said. “All the money is going back to the kids.”

Salera noted that in order to qualify for the MAPS program, a household must first apply for free and reduced lunch through the federal government. Even if a household only qualifies for reduced lunch, he said the MAPS program could still potentially cover their balance depending on their level of need, so they should apply as well.

Salera was also happy that the program could potentially bring many more families in need through their doors, opening up other assistance programs – such as the LIHEAP heating assistance program – to those who need them most.

The annual household income guidelines to qualify for the school lunch assistance program are as follows:

• 1-person household – $30,219
• 2-person household – $39,517
• 3-person household – $48,815
• 4-person household – $58,113
• 5-person household – $67,411
• 6-person household – $76,709
• 7-person household – $78,453
• 8-person household – $80,196

Those interested in applying should contact Westbay Community Action at 732-4660.