Two Tumwater elementary schools now eligible for free school meals after initial exclusion 

Black Lake and East Olympia elementary schools in the Tumwater School District are eligible to be included in the free school meals program offered under House Bill 1238. 

Both schools were initially excluded from the free meals this year. Last year, East Olympia qualified, but Black Lake did not.  

A district report stated the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) had notified the district regarding the issue on March 5. 

The district’s partnership with the OSPI on methodology options has pushed the schools above a threshold for funding. 

“This good news is contingent on continued funding from state and federal sources, and no legislative changes in this cycle,” the report stated. 

Data 

As an overview, Black Lake had a dip in the annual number of lunches served, from 13,701 lunches in 2024 to 13,211 currently. 

East Olympia recorded an increase from 20,170 lunches served in 2024 to 28,497 in 2025. 

Overall, the district had a 43.1% increase in breakfast served and a 16.7% increase in lunches served. 

Ben Rarick, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, explained the trend in the district’s Child Nutrition Program. 

“You'll see that we're up 43% in breakfast and 16% in lunch. It's a huge jump, and it's not altogether surprising, given that this was the first year that a lot of kids could eat for free in that program,” Rarick said. 

Rarick also explained that although more district revenue is expected once more schools are included in the government’s free meal program, however, there may also be more expenses because the district will have greater food cost. 

“What we're looking to see is whether the greater revenue outweighs the greater expense, and indeed it does so, that $130,000 figure on that slide indicates that it isn't just that we're serving more meals, which, in and of itself is a benefit to our kids, but that actually the program is eating into its deficit, no pun intended, and getting into a better financial situation again,” Rarick explained.