School breakfast and lunch are now available at no charge to all Canyons District students under a temporary waiver from the USDA.

The free meal service will start after the Labor Day holiday on Tuesday, Sept. 8 and continue through December 2020 or until the federal funding runs out. All students are eligible, whether they are learning in the classroom, online or at home.

“This is welcome news for the communities we serve,” says CSD’s Nutrition Services Director Sebasthian Varas. “We have families who may not qualify for free or reduced-price lunch but have been financially hurt by the pandemic. This will hopefully bring them some peace of mind and take at least one worry off their shoulders.”

Families who think they may qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch are still encouraged to apply so there is no lapse in meal service when the USDA waiver expires, Varas says.

Canyons District is committed to ensuring no child goes hungry and has sponsored free meals throughout the pandemic, even over the summer months and the period when schools were dismissed. The USDA waiver provides the flexibility and funding to ensure nutritious meals continue to reach all children in this fluid and fast-changing time.

There’s no need to apply for the benefit; all students are automatically eligible.

Due to labor constraints, most of our meal sites have been designated “restrictive open” sites, which are open to enrolled students and their siblings. Four CSD schools have been designated “open sites,” which are able to provide meals to all children in the community, 18 years of age and under.

Restrictive Open Sites

These schools will serve meals in their cafeterias per the staggered schedules they’ve established to promote physical distancing. Online and at-home learners may pick up meals at specific times and locations as designated by each school. Additionally, these families may pick up meals for any siblings who are 18 years of age or younger. Schools ask, however, that they preorder their meals so that the kitchens know how much food to prepare.

Open Sites

Four schools will make free meals available to all children 18 years of age and younger, even those who aren’t enrolled in Canyons District. Meal service at these schools will continue as usual for students taking in-person classes. Grab-and-go sack lunches and breakfasts will be made available to remote learners and non-CSD students. Pick-up times and locations will be determined by each school. Families will receive a lunch and cold breakfast for enjoying the next day. Parents may pick up these meals without having their children present. We ask parents who have students enrolled in the online or at-home instructional options to preorder meals. Members of the community, who do not have students enrolled at those schools, do not need to preorder:

• Draper Park Middle, 13133 S. 1300 East, Draper
• Butler Middle,  7530 S. 2700 East, Cottonwood Heights
• Midvale Middle, 7852 Pioneer Rd., Midvale
• Jordan High, 95 E. Beetdigger Blvd.

Please note that a la carte options are not available for purchase while the waiver is in place. An elementary student, for example, who brings home lunch and wants to purchase a milk can still receive a milk free of charge, but must also choose a fruit or vegetable and another component. In secondary schools, second meals and a la carte items, such as juice, ice cream or sports drinks, are not available for purchase at this time.

Only children are eligible for free meals. Adults may purchase meals using the payment procedures established by the District.