Meals free to all students in Ogden School District for 2022-23 school year

OGDEN, Utah — Breakfasts and lunches in the Ogden School District are free to all students for the remainder of the school year, according to district officials.

“The Child Nutrition Department has elected to use available State Reimbursement funding to cover the costs of the meals for the remainder of the school year for students who do not financially qualify for free school meals,” read a Wednesday morning press release from the Ogden School District.

According to the release, this applies to only the 2022-2023 school year, meaning parents will need to plan on submitting a free and reduced meals application or pay for school meals next year.

“The Ogden School District Child Nutrition Department will re-evaluate the opportunity to offer meals at no cost to all students in the future, based on available funding,” the release stated.

The announcement comes a few months after eight of the 18 schools in the district qualified for the USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision program, which provides funding for school meals in school communities with high rates of poverty. Those schools include Bonneville Elementary, Heritage Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, James Madison Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Odyssey Elementary, Mound Fort Jr. High and George Washington High School.