Breakfast And Lunch Are Free For Every Student At 44 Escambia Schools; Others Must Apply

July 29, 2026

Breakfast and lunch are free for all students, regardless of income, during the upcoming school year at 44 schools and centers in Escambia County. Applications must be submitted for free or reduced price lunches, or payment made, at 11 other schools.

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program means that parents of the students at these schools are not required to submit an application for the Free and Reduced Meal program at that school.

The free meal schools are selected based upon income levels.

Parents at these schools should plan on providing their child with money for their meals until eligibility is established to avoid creating a deficit in their account. Funds can be added to student accounts online at myschoolapps.com.

This federally funded program has been in place since 2015 in Escambia County.

Meal applications, or payment, will be required at:

  • Beulah Elementary
  • Blue Angels Elementary
  • Cook Elementary
  • Cordova Park Elementary
  • Hellen Caro Elementary
  • Kingsfield Elementary
  • Suter Elementary
  • Brown Barge Middle
  • Ransom Middle
  • Tate High
  • West Florida High.

Free meal schools are:

Elementary Schools

  1. Bellview Elementary
  2. Bratt Elementary
  3. Brentwood Elementary
  4. Byrneville Elementary
  5. C.A. Weis Elementary
  6. Ensley Elementary
  7. Ferry Pass Elementary
  8. Global Learning Academy
  9. Holm Elementary
  10. Jim Allen Elementary
  11. Lincoln Park Elementary
  12. Lipscomb Elementary
  13. Longleaf Elementary
  14. McArthur Elementary
  15. Molino Park Elementary
  16. Montclair Elementary
  17. Myrtle Grove Elementary
  18. Navy Point Elementary
  19. Oakcrest Elementary
  20. Pine Meadow Elementary
  21. Pleasant Grove Elementary
  22. Scenic Heights Elementary
  23. O.J. Semmes Elementary
  24. Sherwood Elementary
  25. Warrington Elementary
  26. West Pensacola Elementary

Middle Schools

  1. Bailey Middle
  2. Bellview Middle
  3. Beulah Middle
  4. Ernest Ward Middle
  5. Ferry Pass Middle
  6. Workman Middle

High Schools

  1. Escambia High
  2. Northview High
  3. Pensacola High
  4. Pine Forest High
  5. Washington High

Other Schools and Centers

  1. Acceleration Academy
  2. Achieve Academy
  3. Capstone
  4. Escambia Westgate Center
  5. Hope Horizon
  6. Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy
  7. Success Academy

Pictured: An Escambia County School lunch as served to students. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

5 Responses to “Breakfast And Lunch Are Free For Every Student At 44 Escambia Schools; Others Must Apply”

  1. WestRobertsResident on July 31st, 2026 12:13 pm

    There’s a lot of things that my tax dollars provide that I don’t agree with. Feeding children at school is not one of them. Compared to what I see our school district waste money on, this is not something that is going to bankrupt the school district. It doesn’t matter to me if you make $100,000 a year or you’re unemployed, we should feed every child that attends school. It’s sad that we can hold conferences for teachers and administration, pay for travel, and have countless redundant positions in our school district yet we claim we can’t feed the children we serve. It’s time to stop playing this game every year. On top of the idiocracy of not feeding everyone, you are singling out low income children. There should be nothing we do as a school district that is based on income, especially a healthy meal.

  2. Straight Shooter on July 30th, 2026 9:00 pm

    Don’t know how this isn’t blatant discrimination. My grandkids go to one school not on the list and they certainly need the assistance.

  3. Doris on July 30th, 2026 10:51 am

    My grandchildren attend two of the schools listed not receiving free meals. I don’t know how the School District determines who does and who doesn’t. But I will inform you that those two schools have students that need to eat at school. Without it, they don’t get a meal. Many of them are from broken homes, low income, low IQ. So I guess they starve or steal food to live. Maybe they will find a way to get to Carver Park in Cantonment and take home several boxes of food on food giveaway days.

    Shame on the School District for not allowing ALL schools to receive free meals.

  4. anne on July 30th, 2026 6:40 am

    Yes, what makes certain schools ineligible for the free meals?

  5. Derek on July 29th, 2026 6:48 pm

    Breakfast and lunch should be free at all public schools.





Have a comment on this story?

We welcome your comments on this story, but there are some rules to follow::

(1) Be Nice. No comments that slander another, no racism, no sexism, no personal attacks.

(2) No Harrassing Comments. If someone says something bad about you, don't respond. That's childish.

(3) No Libel. That's saying something is not true about someone. Don't do it.

(4) Keep it clean. Nothing vulgar, obscene or sexually related. No profanity or obvious substitutions. Period.

(5) NorthEscambia.com reserves the right to remove any comments that violate our rules or we think to be inappropriate. We are not responsible for what is posted. Comments may not appear right away until they are approved by a moderator.

(6) Limit your comments to the subject in this story only, and limit comments to 300 words or less. Do not post copyrighted material. Comments will not be added to stories that are over 30 days old.

(7) No posts may advertise a commercial business, political candidate or political group, or link to another commercial web site or political site of any kind.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News