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Emma Wilkinson
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All students at Knox County Schools have been able to have breakfast and lunch for free since the fall of 2020. This applied to everyone regardless of family income, because of a federal government waiver. Due to the fact the federal government has not extended the waivers, only qualifying students and schools will have access to free and reduced meals. The qualifying students must submit a free and reduced-price meal application at Lunchapplication.com - Knox County Schools and have it approved or attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school to continue to have free or reduced lunch. Through the CEP, the nation's highest-poverty schools and districts are able to serve breakfast and lunch for free to all enrolled students without collecting household applications, ensuring that students are being fed and not going home hungry. A list of CEP schools can be found at https://www.knoxnews.com/. In the current school year, 2022-2023, the cost of school meals are: $2 dollars for breakfast, $2.75 for elementary lunch, and $3 for middle/high school lunch. Tennessee’s school nutrition program is responsible for providing nutritious meals and snacks for students. The USDA set nutrition standards require most schools to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat milk in school meals. They also require them to reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat, and trans fat in meals along with meeting the nutritional needs of school children within their calorie requirements. Although breakfast and lunch are no longer free, students will have access to a nutritionally balanced low-cost meal through the National School Lunch Program.
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