JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools parents are voicing their concerns after the district said it was ending universal free lunches at 37 schools after reviewing its budget.
Beginning next school year, DCPS will cut free lunch provided through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for 37 schools, which provided universal free meals regardless of school or need.
Families at those schools will now need to complete a free or reduced-price meal application or be certified by the state to get assistance. The application will be available online in the first week of August. The district said it will extend the application if needed.
The district has been able to provide free meals regardless of school since March 2020 due to the pandemic-related funding.
Officials said after review of the district’s budget going into the 2025-26 school year, the district determined universal free meals were no longer sustainable without that funding.
Most schools in the district qualified as CEP schools, meaning that 40% of students enrolled in those schools were eligible for free or reduced-price meals through other programs, such a SNAP or TANF or Medicaid.
Pamela Snyder works as a letter carrier during the day, but 27/7, she’s a single, dedicated mom to two girls enrolled in DCPS. She, like many others, was shocked to see her girls’ schools on the list for no more free lunches that were funded through pandemic-related money.
“I’m living on a credit card to pay for food as it is right now,” Snyder said. “I’m using that as well for my gas with commutes back into work, with extra activities, with the girls both doing sports, we’re struggling.”
DCPS leaders said they hear the concerns.
“I’m a grandfather,” DCPS Chief Information Officer Jim Culbert said. “I’ve got four wonderful grandkids, and I promise that no student is going to be hungry.”
He said when the COVID-19 pandemic started, the federal government gave the district money to provide breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner to all students. From there, the district built up a fund balance of $26 million, which the district used to give free lunch to all DCPS students when they returned to school post-pandemic.
“We have since spent down that fund balance to the point where the Fed said we have to end that program so we will,” Culbert said. “So basically, we’re just returning back to where we were pre-pandemic.”
Culbert gave examples of a families eligibility for free or reduced lunch. If a family of four is making $38,000 or less, they will get free lunch. If you’ve got a similar family making $55,000 or less, they’ll qualify for reduced lunch.
Yasmina White has two girls, one of whom will attend one of the 37 schools on the list to be cut. She’s most concerned about how this will impact other families in the district.
“Some of those schools are also in areas of town that have been deemed as a dedicated magnet, they have students that come from all over Jacksonville, that come from neighborhoods that have food insecurity, and we all know that food insecurity is not discriminated upon no matter what zip code you’re in,” White said.
Snyder said she will apply in August but she still has concerns.
“I would most definitely make sure that my children have the meals that they need to and the nutrition properly, but it does make it a little bit more challenging,” Snyder said. “Will I be able to meet a bill? Will I be able to make my mortgage?”
All students will continue to receive free lunch for the first 30 operating days of the school year or until a new meal eligibility status determination is made, whichever comes first.
Free breakfast will be provided at all schools through the federal Universal Free Breakfast Program.
The district said if enough students at a particular school during the school year reach over that 40% threshold, they will move that school into free lunch for all the students as well.
Here is the list of the 37 non-CEP schools:
- Alden Road Exceptional Student Center
- Alimacani Elementary
- Anchor Academy Elementary
- Atlantic Beach Elementary
- Atlantic Coast High
- Baldwin Jr/Sr
- Bartram Springs Elementary
- Chets Creek Elementary
- Darnell Cookman Jr/Sr
- Douglas Anderson High
- Fishweir Elementary
- Fletcher High
- Fletcher Middle
- Greenland Pines Elementary
- Hendricks Avenue Elementary
- J Allen Axson Elementary
- Jacksonville Beach Elementary
- James Weldon Johnson Middle
- John Stockton Elementary
- Julia Landon Middle
- Lavilla Middle
- Loretto Elementary
- Louis Sheffield Elementary
- Mandarin High
- Mandarin Middle
- Mandarin Oaks Elementary
- Mayport Elementary
- Mayport Middle
- Neptune Beach Elementary
- New Berlin Elementary
- Paxon High
- Sabal Palm Elementary
- Samuel W Wolfson High
- San Pablo Elementary
- Sandalwood High
- Seabreeze Elementary
- Stanton High
