LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) announced Thursday that it will serve hot meals to most of its 96,000 enrolled students inside school buildings once classes resume this year on Aug. 11. This marks the end of a nearly 17-month meal system that included bulk curbside food pickup for anyone 18 and under.

All JCPS students, regardless of family income or school, will be eligible for free meals during the 2021-22 school year. JCPS said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended funding for school districts across the country to offer free meals to every public school student.

“I am proud of the extraordinary work our staff has done over the past year and a half to make sure young people in our community received appealing, nutritious meals and snacks throughout the pandemic,” said Julia Bauscher, executive director of JCPS Nutrition Services. “Although we will be making some adjustments to our meal service to adapt to the changing landscape in our schools, we’re looking forward to the coming school year and returning to some sense of a normal schedule and serving kids in cafeterias again.”

Beginning on the first day of school, those adjustments will include:

• Meals will be provided only to students enrolled in JCPS district schools.
• There will be no curbside meal service. For most JCPS students, who will be attending in-person classes, all meals will be served in school buildings. JCPS will host five locations for students to pick up a week’s worth of bulk items to support students enrolled in the virtual academy. Only students enrolled in the virtual school are eligible to pick up meals, and they must register in advance for the meals. JCPS said more information on registering will be provided to families.
• The district will retain some options that grew from remote learning-time food service, like the “fast pass” breakfast kiosks, allowing students to grab and go with their morning meals, at many locations.

Other meal features and options will continue, like:

• Students who bring their lunch can still pick up fresh fruit, vegetables or milk.
• After-school snacks and suppers will be available for qualified after-school programs.
• At middle and high schools, vending machines will be open for a la carte sales, but branded pizza will not be on the menu this year. The district said it's working to bring it back as soon as possible.

Bauscher asked for patience as in-school meals resume for the first time in a year and a half. She said that menus are subject to vary with availability and that school districts are also facing shortages and food disruptions.

Dan Ellnor, assistant director of Nutrition Services, said that more than 11.5 million meals have been served since March 16, 2020.

“Our Nutrition Services staff have stepped up to serve millions of meals to children and young people during this difficult year,” Ellnor said. “In some cases, the meals were the only full meals they received each week.”