HOLYOKE, Massachusetts (WGGB/WSHM) — Western Mass News is getting answers after parents of two Holyoke Catholic schools were informed in a letter that they will no longer be able to offer free breakfast and lunch to their students in the 2024-2025 school year.
The letter states that Mater Dolorosa and Blessed Sacrament schools received information from Holyoke Public Schools that the cut was due to budget issues and negative data collection at the two Catholic schools.
Now families who have taken advantage of the school’s free meal program must find a way to finance meals for their children.
“At a meeting on July 31, we were informed that both Mater Dolorosa and Blessed Sacrament School will no longer be eligible for free breakfast and lunch for the 2024-2025 school year. We were told that this change was due to budget planning as well as negative data collection from both schools,” the letter states.
Further in the letter, the superintendent of Springfield Diocesan Schools said, among other things:
“After consulting with our office staff and Father Albert, we have come to the decision to discontinue the breakfast program for logistical reasons. We are unable to carefully monitor the breakfast program on a daily basis because breakfast items were delivered automatically based on the total number of students enrolled, rather than a daily lunch count.”
Now, families at Mater Dolorosa and Blessed Sacrament schools who used the program must pay $4.88 per lunch to continue receiving meals through Holyoke Public Schools.
The Sodexo Group operates the Holyoke Public Schools meal program, which includes Mater Dolorosa and Blessed Sacrament.
Sodexo today asked us to contact the school district for an answer as to why free breakfast and lunch was eliminated at these schools. We have not yet received a response.
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