For greater than two years through the pandemic, the waivers from the U.S. Division of Agriculture meant all children certified without spending a dime breakfasts and lunches. It saved households with one youngster a whole lot of {dollars} per yr, and for households with a number of children, it saved hundreds. It meant households who may qualify without spending a dime or diminished lunches didn’t should deal with paperwork, and no college students needed to navigate lunch debt.
However this system had an expiration date. Congress had the choice to increase it, however there wasn’t a lot data popping out about whether or not lawmakers would.
“You understand, we began listening to some issues again within the spring, truly, that they had been going to finish that program,” mentioned superintendent Chris Karch of Morris Public Colleges, a small district in northeast Oklahoma. “All of us had been sitting again and hoping that they might, , one thing would occur. They’d change their thoughts on that … With the financial system, the downturn, we’re listening to tales. We all know that there are lots of people in our neighborhood which can be hurting.”
The USDA couldn’t authorize these waivers on their very own. As a result of that coverage was a break from federal pointers, Congress needed to log out on it. When it got here time to re-authorize the waivers this summer time, lawmakers opted out.
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Though some critics level the finger on the Biden Administration for failing to formally request an extension, in accordance with reporting by Politico, some Republican lawmakers mentioned it was time to let the break finish, that the reduction couldn’t go on ceaselessly.
However the individuals who work for Morris colleges had seen what a boon the break was for the children and their households. Cafeteria director Lousenda Pannell mentioned as quickly as meals had been free, considerably extra kids had been making their method via the lunch line.
“With the mother and father not having to fret concerning the invoice, it is like, ‘Go eat,’” Pannell mentioned. “You understand, ‘You eat breakfast. You eat lunch.’ As a result of they do not have to fret about it. And I feel with our older children, they know that their mother and father haven’t got to fret about them, so that they’re extra apt to come back and eat.”
Pannell mentioned children in households who’re struggling can miss meals, and it impacts their schooling.
“The cafeteria is without doubt one of the most necessary locations on the varsity campus as a result of when you obtain a superb nutritious meal, you do not have to fret about your stomach, , bothering you, and also you’re making an attempt to check,” Pannell mentioned. “Or the trainer having a conduct downside as a result of the scholar hasn’t had a superb meal. So if everybody was capable of eat without spending a dime, that may be one thing that we would not have to fret about in our school rooms with our college students.”
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Karch mentioned one in every of Morris’ college board members had an concept. The district had different COVID reduction funding left over. The board may authorize utilizing it to increase common free lunches for one more yr.
“So I introduced that at a board assembly, and it was unanimous,” Karch mentioned.
Different colleges have had to return to regular.
Jennifer Bradley is the diet companies director at Union Public Colleges in Tulsa. She mentioned Union has tried to maintain costs down as a lot as attainable and hasn’t raised them since 2016. Whereas it has among the lowest costs within the state, it will probably nonetheless be an issue for households.
“We’re charging $2.20 for elementary, $2.50 for center college, and $2.70 (for highschool),” Bradley mentioned. “However even at that fee for a household, it will value them for one youngster about $683 a yr. It provides up and impacts and particularly after they’re feeling it from outdoors in the actual world, , shopping for meals and groceries.”
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Shopping for groceries has gotten considerably costlier this yr. Grocery costs have elevated practically 11 % simply in 2022.
Bradley mentioned her district has leaned into getting out as many free and reduced-lunch functions as attainable to folks. Union is as much as about 70 % free and diminished.
Jennifer Weber is the manager director of kid diet for the Oklahoma State Division of Schooling. She mentioned the return to regular for some colleges is common free lunch. There are applications that enable districts to do that if they’ve a excessive sufficient share of authorized free and diminished lunch functions. Or if sufficient kids’s households are enrolled in federal poverty reduction applications.
The majority of meal funding is federal. None of it comes from state revenues. Colleges order their meals from authorized distributors, following stringent pointers. The USDA reimburses them at a standardized fee per meal.
“If the reimbursement does not cowl the price of feeding the children at that web site or that district, then nonfederal funds have to kick in there,” Weber mentioned. “And typically that may be a difficulty for a college district that runs shut on their finances.”
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To hedge in opposition to these losses, the federal authorities requires districts to implement insurance policies that restrict the variety of meals children can cost with out paying.
“So, say it is ten expenses, which might be two weeks of faculty,” Weber mentioned. “They usually say, OK, should you do not buy that tenth meal, if you have not introduced us cash for at the moment’s meal or the prior meals that you simply owe for, they do not have to offer them any meals. Imagine it or not, they do not. Most college districts aren’t that minimize and dry. They offer them, like, possibly a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a carton of milk or a cheese sandwich.”
What’s left of these expenses is named lunch debt.
“Now, on the finish of the yr, if they do not pay that $100 stability, $50 stability, no matter it’s, [districts] can proceed to gather that for so long as they really feel the necessity to. And we do have college districts that attempt to accumulate for a number of years,” Weber mentioned. “And that’s one other difficulty that they have not needed to face the final two years… As a result of meals had been free. And in order that’s one other plus to having all free meals.”
From Union to Morris, whether or not the meals are free or not, these offering meals to college students know the way essential a full stomach is for studying.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers scored 16 points before suffering a left shoulder injury in the third quarter, and No. 10 Oklahoma rolled past Texas A&M 77-62 on Sunday.
Beers, a 6-foot-4 center, was helped off the floor by teammates. She returned to the bench with an ice pack on her shoulder, but did not play again.
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The Sooners (14-3, 2-2 SEC) bounced back from a loss to Mississippi State on Thursday to claim their first home SEC win in their first season in the conference.
Aicha Coulibaly scored 16 points for Texas A&M (8-8, 1-3), which shot 26.9%.
It was the second straight blowout loss for the Aggies, who dropped a 90-49 decision to No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday.
Oklahoma made 9 of 14 field goals in the first quarter and Beers scored 10 points in the period as the Sooners took a 27-10 lead.
The Sooners led 44-23 at halftime after holding the Aggies to 18.9% shooting. Beers scored 16 points and made 10 of 11 free throws before the break.
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Takeaways
Texas A&M: The Aggies tried to rally in the third, but were too far behind to take advantage of Beers’ absence. The Aggies trailed 59-38 when Beers was hurt, and outscored the Sooners 24-18 the rest of the way.
Oklahoma: It wasn’t the cleanest game for the Sooners. They made 8 of 33 3-pointers and committed 19 turnovers. They’ll need to improve those areas against better opponents.
Key moment
Oklahoma, already leading by 17 heading into the second quarter, held the Aggies to one field goal in the first five minutes of the second to resume its defensive dominance.
Key stat
Texas A&M made 3 of 19 3-pointers.
Up next
Texas A&M hosts Georgia and Oklahoma hosts Missouri, both on Thursday.
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When Ben Arbuckle stepped foot on campus at Canadian High School in 2010, coach Chris Koetting felt like he had a crystal ball.
A freshman quarterback at the time, Arbuckle made an immediate impression on Koetting, who mentally made a bold prediction.
“I knew he was going to do big things in football,” Koetting said.
Fast forward more than a decade, and some might think Koetting is a fortune teller.
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Arbuckle, only 29, has already become a successful coach at the collegiate level. He accepted the offensive coordinator job at Oklahoma in December, following stints at Washington State and Western Kentucky.
Now he’s tasked with breathing new life into an Oklahoma offense that was among the worst in college football in 2024. Those who know him are confident he’ll succeed.
Canadian, TX, located on the far-right end of the Texas Panhandle, has a population of just 2,339 — so just about everybody knows everybody else.
Arbuckle’s high school career made him an even more recognizable name in the small town.
In his final two seasons of high school, Arbuckle passed for 7,500 yards and 95 touchdowns. He led the Wildcats to the UIL 2A state quarterfinals as a senior.
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While most of Arbuckle’s high school highlights are passing-related, it’s where he first dove into instructing others.
Canadian’s backup for Arbuckle’s final two seasons was Tanner Schafer, who later played at OU. After waiting behind Arbuckle and learning from him, Schafer led Canadian to back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.
“(Ben) has helped a lot of quarterbacks along the way, not just as a coach,” Koetting said. “He’s special.”
After high school, Arbuckle took two seasons off from playing football before joining West Texas A&M’s program in 2016. Located in Canyon, just outside of Amarillo, Arbuckle continued to learn more about the game on a small scale.
He spent half of the 2016 season as the Buffaloes’ starter, completing 63 percent of his passes for 1,241 yards and 15 touchdowns. Arbuckle didn’t start in 2017, but he was WTAM’s top backup, appearing in 10 games.
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While Arbuckle didn’t break records at West Texas A&M, his time there showed others his work ethic, killer instinct and love for the game — traits that have allowed him to succeed as a college coach.
“I definitely learned about Ben’s competitiveness from my time playing,” said Allen Roberson, who played with Arbuckle at WTAM as a defensive end. “It was always fun competing each day against the offense in practice. As a QB, it’s always important to learn and process quickly. Ben always showed that, along with his enthusiasm and fun spirit every day.”
Arbuckle’s love for the game really shined through at his first collegiate coaching stop.
Immediately after graduating from West Texas A&M, Arbuckle joined the staff at Houston Baptist (now Houston Christian), which competes at the NCAA Division I FCS level.
Arbuckle was an unpaid quality control assistant for the Huskies — and it got his foot in the door to where he wanted to be.
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Koetting guided Arbuckle as he entered the college coaching realm. And it didn’t surprise Arbuckle’s high school coach that he’d be willing to coach for free — or take a second job as a food delivery driver to make ends meet.
“His trail to get to where he’s at right now is kind of crazy,” Koetting said. “His work ethic is something else.”
After that, Arbuckle returned to the Texas Panhandle for one year, serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Seminole High School.
Arbuckle then landed his first paid college coaching job at Western Kentucky, where he started as an offensive quality control assistant. He was then promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Hilltoppers in 2022, helping lead the nation’s No. 1 passing offense (433.7 passing yards per game) with eventual NFL quarterback Bailey Zappe.
That instant success helped Arbuckle land the same job at Washington State.
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The body of work is just three years for Arbuckle-led college football offenses, but he hasn’t missed yet. After heading a successful air-raid system at WKU, he was just as successful in Pullman.
In 2023, Arbuckle worked with Cam Ward — who later transferred to Miami (FL) and was a 2024 Heisman finalist — and produced a passing offense that was fourth nationally with 336.8 yards per game.
A year later, Arbuckle ran an offense with John Mateer, who recently transferred to Oklahoma. The Cougars finished 2024 with 30 passing touchdowns, which was sixth in the nation.
“One of the best offensive minds in the last several decades in college football,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said in December. “He has his own report — everything that I continue to look at.”
Now, Arbuckle heads to his biggest program yet — and it’s a full-circle journey for him.
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Canadian is just over three hours away from Norman, and his wife, Lauren, grew up a die-hard OU fan. On their first date, Arbuckle took Lauren to an Oklahoma game.
Game day for those two will look quite different when Arbuckle takes the reins in the fall. But it’s a return to the place that sparked their love for one another and Arbuckle’s love for OU.
“Here we are 12 years later, and we’re very proud to be here,” Arbuckle said on the National Signing Day show on Sooner Sports TV in December. “We’re ready to get this thing rolling.”
In addition to Arbuckle’s short-but-impressive resume and his family ties, his leadership is what those closest to him think will stand out.
Rosemary Koetting, Chris’ wife, described Arbuckle as a “player’s coach” who is kind, intelligent and competitive.
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“He makes everybody feel important,” Rosemary Koetting said. “Kids flock to him.”
Jett Niu, a 3-star quarterback prospect who signed with OU in December after Arbuckle’s hiring, had similar first impressions.
Arbuckle recruited Niu to Washington State early in his recruiting process, but the quarterback prospect ultimately chose to commit to Oklahoma State. But the two kept in touch even after Niu’s OSU commitment, and once Arbuckle landed in Norman, it was a no-brainer for him to flip.
“I love the way that he coaches and talks to his players,” Niu said. “He really just develops them.”
At 29 years old, Arbuckle is just over a decade older than Niu. His new coordinator’s youth — plus his proven track record with Zappe, Ward and Mateer — excites the Sooners’ incoming signal caller.
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“He’s developed multiple quarterbacks that have been successful in college football, and I think I can be one of them,” Niu said. “We’re going to have a great next couple of years.”
Arbuckle’s time in Norman could span more than a decade. It could last only a year. Regardless, Koetting thinks Arbuckle is the right man for the job.
But wherever Arbuckle’s coaching career takes him, Koetting will always see him as the small-town quarterback that he predicted to one day be a star.
“I have coached a lot of great quarterbacks, and he’s been my favorite,” Koetting said. “He’s one of ours. He’s special, and I can tell you that.”
The Texas A&M Aggies (8-7) will try to stop a three-game road skid when taking on the Oklahoma Sooners (13-3) on Sunday, January 12, 2025 at Lloyd Noble Center, airing at 5:00 PM ET on SEC Network.
Texas A&M is coming off of a 90-49 loss to South Carolina in its last game on Thursday.
Prepare for this matchup with everything you need to know about Sunday’s college hoops action.
Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
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Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M: How to watch on TV or live stream
Watch women’s college basketball on Fubo!
Texas A&M scoring
The Sooners put up 24.5 more points than the Aggies allow (64.8).
Oklahoma is 13-3 when scoring more than 64.8 points.
Oklahoma is 8-7 versus the spread and 13-3 overall when scoring more than 64.8.
Texas A&M is 2-3 versus the spread and has an 8-5 record overall when conceding fewer than 89.3 points.
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M computer pick
Prediction: Oklahoma 81, Texas A&M 62
Watch women’s college basketball on Fubo!
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