PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pasco County Schools is making it easier for children to get free meals. And, more districts may make similar announcements soon.
At the end of August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture extended flexibilities through the end of the year, allowing summer meal program operators to keep serving free meals to all children this fall.
"This unprecedented move will help ensure – no matter what the situation is on-the-ground – children have access to nutritious food as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic," the USDA wrote in a news release.
Pasco County Schools is seizing the opportunity.
Beginning Sept. 14, Pasco students who attend in-person classes will still be able to get meals in the cafeteria, but those meals will now be free. Students doing remote learning will continue to be able to get school meals in a drive-through fashion. Those meals will also be free beginning Monday.
Here's how it will work for students doing online learning through mySchool Online or Pasco eSchool:
Sept. 14-17: Daily drive-through meal distribution becomes free. It will continue at is previously-designated site times and locations.
Sept. 18: The school district will serve a week's worth of meals (breakfast and lunch) curbside to mySchool Online students, quarantined students, and local residents 18 and under. That will include Pasco e-School students.
"We will keep the same times already established for curbside feeding. Curbside meal distribution will continue once a week on Fridays," the district explained in a statement.
Families who would like to participate in curbside pickup should complete the Meal Reservation Form by clicking here to help the district prepare.
The district says parents and guardians will no longer have to go to their child's school for food. Instead, they can pick up meals from the locations most convenient to them.
"We encourage families intending to participate curbside to complete the Meal Reservation Form, http://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/fns/mform/view.php?id=269401, so we can be best prepared for curbside participation. Parent/guardians no longer have to go to their child’s school; they can pick up meals from the site that is most convenient."
Pasco likely won't be alone in changing its school lunch policy. Some districts have offered free meals for a while now. The Hernando County School District has been offering free meals to all students since 2018. You can learn more about Hernando's program here.
Polk and Highlands counties will again offer free school lunches to students this year.
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