Elementary students eat lunch in Canton, Miss., on Aug. 9, 2019. | AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
Published on August 5, 2025 at 10:54 pm
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Students at 37 Duval County public schools will no longer automatically qualify for free lunch during the coming school year. Instead, school lunches there will cost $4 for elementary students and $4.25 for secondary students. The School Board unanimously approved the lunch prices on Tuesday ahead of the start of the 2025-26 school year this coming Monday.
The district encourages parents to manage school lunch payments through the MySchoolBucks app or website. Parents can also prepay for lunches by sending cash or a check to the school to be deposited into the student’s account.
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Low-income families whose children attend those schools can still apply for free or reduced-price meals. Students whose families already receive assistance from programs like SNAP will automatically be registered. All students at the 37 schools can continue to receive free meals until their eligibility is determined, for up to 30 school days.
The rest of Duval’s traditional public schools, about 75% of them, are designated Community Eligibility Provision schools — schools serving communities that fall below a certain economic threshold — and will continue to offer lunch at no cost to all students.
Breakfast will also continue to be free for all students at all schools.
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The change comes as a result of expired COVID-era federal funding that allowed the district to offer the universal free lunches for several years.
During the 2019-20 school year — the last school year when the district charged for lunch — elementary students paid $1.95; secondary students paid $2.50; and students receiving reduced-price lunches paid 40 cents.
The School Board first discussed making the change at a workshop in May.
