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SNAP cuts could threaten free school meals as New Orleans marks Black Education History week.

Changes to federal food assistance and a new recognition of Black education history raise important questions about students, schools, and the history taught in New Orleans classrooms.
by Carolyne Heldman
SNAP cutbacks could affect access to free school meals for New Orleans students. (Photo by USDA)

This week on “Behind The Lens,” Education reporter Vivi Smilgius examines how SNAP cutbacks could sharply reduce the number of children receiving free meals at New Orleans schools, highlighting the link between food assistance and students’ access to school meals.

The episode also looks at Black Education History Week, as some local charter schools prepare to officially recognize the observance 65 years after school integration. Smilgius explains the significance of the week and its focus on Black educational history in New Orleans.

Adrinda Kelly, founding executive director of BE NOLA, Black Education History Week, aims to bring New Orleans’ “living legacy” to life, especially as Black history is being erased at the national level. (Photo by Gus Bennett / The Lens)
Leona Tate, who was escorted by U.S. marshals into McDonogh 19 Elementary School on Nov. 14, 1960, helped integrate New Orleans public schools. Sixty-five years later, her experience remains central to the history being recognized during Black Education History Week in New Orleans. (Photo by Gus Bennett, courtesy of The New Orleans People Project)

Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music by Chimera.

Additional sound courtesy of WWL-TV.

Host: Carolyne Heldman

Guest: Reporter Vivi Smilgius

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Carolyne Heldman

Carolyne Heldman Rovira has been in media for 35 years, and is currently the podcast host and producer for Behind The Lens. Heldman served as executive director at Aspen Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, where she launched four weekly news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programs. She has been a guest lecturer at Tulane University, is a frequent guest and moderator for the Aspen Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute.

View all posts by Carolyne Heldman