More Knox County Schools will serve free meals to all students starting Jan. 4

Areena Arora, Knoxville News Sentinel
·2 min read

Beginning Jan. 4, when classes resume after winter break, 25 more Knox County schools will begin serving free breakfast and lunch to all their students. The addition of more schools stems from an adjustment in the federal program's threshold and Tennessee Department of Education policy.

Previously, 38 schools in the district were part of the Community Eligbility Provision, under which all students are provided with free meals regardless of family income, as part of the National School Lunch Program. The additional schools in January will bring the total number of participating Knox County schools to 63 of the district's 91 schools.

Under the adjusted guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a school in which 25% of the students qualify for free meals will be eligible to provide free meals to all students; the previous threshold was 40%.

This change will be in place for the rest of the 2023-24 school year, according to a press release from the district. The district's nutrition department will evaluate program data in the late spring of next year "to assess whether it is feasible to continue this initiative in future school years," the press release said.

Which Knox County schools will provide free meals to everyone?

Here's a full list of schools where all students will be served free meals, including the new additions:

  • Adrian Burnett Elementary

  • Amherst Elementary (new)

  • Austin-East Magnet High

  • Bearden Middle (new)

  • Beaumont Magnet

  • Belle Morris Elementary

  • Bonny Kate Elementary (new)

  • Career Magnet Academy (new)

  • Carter Elementary (new)

  • Carter High (new)

  • Carter Middle (new)

  • Cedar Bluff Elementary (new)

  • Cedar Bluff Middle (new)

  • Cedar Bluff Preschool (new)

  • Central High

  • Chilhowee Intermediate

  • Christenberry Elementary

  • Copper Ridge Elementary (new)

  • Dogwood Elementary

  • East Knox County Elementary

  • Emerald Academy

  • Fair Garden Family Center

  • Fountain City Elementary

  • Fort Sanders Educational Development Center (new)

  • Fulton High Gibbs Elementary (new)

  • Gibbs Elementary (new)

  • Gibbs High (new)

  • Gibbs Middle (new)

  • Green Magnet Academy

  • Gresham Middle

  • Holston Middle

  • Inskip Elementary

  • KAEC

  • Karns Elementary (new)

  • Karns Preschool (new)

  • Lonsdale Elementary

  • Maynard Elementary

  • Mooreland Heights Elementary

  • Mount Olive Elementary (new)

  • New Hopewell Elementary (new)

  • Northwest Middle

  • Norwood Elementary

  • Paul Kelley Volunteer Academy

  • Pleasant Ridge Elementary (new)

  • Pond Gap Elementary

  • Powell Elementary (new)

  • Powell High (new)

  • Powell Middle (new)

  • Richard Yoakley School

  • Ridgedale Alternative

  • Ritta Elementary (new)

  • Sarah Moore Greene Magnet

  • South Knoxville Elementary

  • South-Doyle High

  • South-Doyle Middle

  • Spring Hill Elementary

  • Sterchi Elementary (new)

  • Sunnyview Primary

  • Vine Middle Magnet

  • West Haven Elementary

  • West Hills Elementary

  • West View Elementary

  • Whittle Springs Middle

Meal prices for Knox County Schools students

  • Breakfast: 30 cents for those who qualify for reduced price, $2 otherwise

  • Lunch: 40 cents for those who qualify for reduced price, $2.75 for other elementary school students and $3 for middle and high schoolers

Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AreenaArora.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Schools expands its universal free meals program