Free School Meals at Participating Schools!

This year, school meals at many of our schools are free, for every student. At these schools, there's no need to complete the Free & Reduced meal application. Free breakfast and lunch are provided to every student at every participating schools.

Many of our schools also offer free supper, and every summer, we sponsor the Free Summer Meal program at schools and community centers.

To learn more and to find the list of 34 participating schools, see the Free School Meals page.

Cafeterias at each of our schools provide hot and nutritious breakfasts and lunches to our students.

Some students enjoy our meals so much that they ask their parents or guardians to request the recipes so that they can serve these meals during vacation and school breaks.

One student writes, "The food is great! They let you have different choices in the cafeteria, but we call it our restaurant."

Students in elementary school can choose between two entrees at lunch. Middle and high school students select from a range of menu stations.

We know that children need a healthy breakfast and lunch in order to have energy for learning. Food services staff takes pride and joy in ensureing that all children receive a nutritious and tasty meal at school. Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, 34 of our schools will be participating in the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) which provides free meals to all students at that school.

TUSD Meal Charge Policy

TUSD is committed to feeding all students. Any student who presents themselves to our cafeterias, regardless of their ability to pay, will receive a meal. Thirty-four of our schools are participating in the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) during the 2019-2020 school year, which means that meals are free for all students at these schools.

For students who attend schools not currently participating in CEP, a meal account is created. If funds are not available at mealtime, the student's meal account will be charged. Parents/guardians will be notified of student meal account negative balances. If a parent/guardian does not want their student to receive a meal and charge their meal account if funds are not available, the parent/guardian should contact TUSD Food Services Department at 225-4700. At the parent/guardian's request, an alert can be placed on a student meal account to not allow meals to be charged. And don't forget our Together Every Kid Eats program, which allows you to help contribute to cover negative balances in student meal accounts. See below for more information.

How You Can Help

Tucson Unified has created a Together Every Kid Eats portal where members of the community can donate money to help feed children. These funds are used to provide students with seamless service and a reimbursable meal following USDA guidelines when students' meal accounts are empty. Food Services will work with families to bring the meal accounts to a positive balance without overt identification. For more information, see the Together Every Kid Eats webpage.

Students in TUSD schools enjoy fresh produce direct from the farm. Local Romaine lettuce is one example of TUSD's farm to school efforts to bring local produce to our students. TUSD Food Services purchases local produce through the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in partnership with southern Arizona farmers to deliver more local produce to the Tucson community. Food Services has been purchasing 600 lbs of local lettuce per week to distribute weekly to several schools. The delivery schedule rotates so that all schools have the opportunity to include local lettuce on their lunch menu.

The photo at left features Romaine lettuce served at Palo Verde High School. The salads served at lunch were made with local lettuce grown in the center of Tucson by Merchant's Garden (a local greenhouse located at TUSD's former Howenstine High School, off of Tucson Blvd between Broadway and 22nd Street).

Fresh, local produce is one of the most effective ways to deliver nutritious (and delicious) meals to our students. Romaine lettuce is one of the tallest and sturdiest of lettuce varieties. It is high in fiber, potassium, vitamins A, manganese, and folate. It's also high in antioxidants, known to be one of most nutritious of lettuce varieties. We're happy to know that our students can enjoy their salads!