All students in Lake County’s traditional public schools will be able to grab free breakfast and lunch on campus for the first time next school year.
The school district — as part of the National School Lunch Program — has been offering free meals only to youngsters whose families met certain income guidelines.
But now it will take part in a section of the federal program that allows no-charge meals for everyone, if the community is predominately low-income, district officials said.
About 60 percent of Lake’s public school students currently qualify for free or a reduced-price school meals, state figures show.
Providing meals for free should make sure that no students are hungry while in school and also speed up cafeteria lines, giving youngsters more time to eat their meals, Lake officials said.
Under the new plan, students will be able to grab the main meals — which now cost from $1 for breakfast at an elementary school to $2.15 for lunch at a high school — for free, but they still will have to pay for any extra snacks.
lpostal@orlandosentinel.com 407-420-5273