Students at eight Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will be eating lunch for free starting Wednesday, bringing the total number of schools offering free lunches to 23.
The program is part of the Universal Meals Program, which was implemented as a pilot program during the 2018-19 school year in seven schools. Eight schools were added during the 2019-20 school year school year.
These 23 schools were chosen, because they have a high number of students eligible for the Free and Reduced Meal program.
“This program eliminates shaming associated with being identified as receiving free or reduced-price meals, as all students in a school receive meals at no cost,” MCPS Spokesperson Jessica Baxter wrote in an email to myMCM.
Costs are covered through reimbursements by the state, she said.
New to the program are these schools:
- Bel Pre Elementary School
- Captain James E. Daly Elementary School
- Cresthaven Elementary School
- Greencastle Elementary School
- Highland Elementary School
- Sargent Shriver Elementary School
- Weller Road Elementary School
- Wheaton Woods Elementary School
Schools already enrolled are:
- Alternative Education Programs at the Blair G. Ewing Center
- Arcola Elementary School
- Emory Grove Early Childhood Center
- Gaithersburg Elementary School
- Georgian Forest Elementary School
- Harmony Hills Elementary School
- JoAnn Leleck Elementary School at Broad Acres
- MacDonald Knolls Early Childhood Center
- New Hampshire Estates Elementary School
- Roscoe R. Nix Elementary School
- Rolling Terrace Elementary School
- South Lake Elementary School
- Summit Hall Elementary School
- Watkins Mill Elementary School
