‘Hunger doesn’t take a spring break.’ Here’s where students can get free meals next week
As Fayette County Public Schools head into spring break, some students are losing their only guaranteed hot meal.
At 58 of 67 public schools in the county, every student gets free breakfast and lunch because of the low socioeconomic status of its students. Those schools participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision program, which lets schools provide free meals to everyone if 40% of its student population qualify for free lunch.
To help ease the financial burden on families over spring break, councilmember Tyler Morton will host the ‘Hunger Doesn’t Take a Spring Break’ program, which provides hot lunches and snack bags to children across the county.
The program is open to everyone, not just students at Community Eligibility Provision designated schools. Morton and other volunteers will be set up across Fayette County April 7-11 handing out meals each day at the following locations:
▪ Charles Young Center
▪ Martin Luther King Park
▪ Green Acres Park
▪ Whitney Young Park
▪ Douglass Park
▪ Dunbar Center
Each location will be open from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., except the Charles Young Center which will open at noon each day.
“Resources in undervalued communities and low socioeconomic communities are important,” and this program will help bring accessible food to families with food insecurity, Morton said at a press conference Friday.
The program started in 2023 under the leadership of former councilmember Tayna Fogle, who Morton defeated in the 2024 election.
Morton said the program wouldn’t be possible without buy-in from community sponsors, who footed the bill for the meal distribution.
“They stepped up and put their money where their mouth was for our youth,” Morton said.
Sponsors of the program include the Bluegrass Community Foundation, Hallway Feeds, Lexington Leadership Foundation, CHI Saint Joseph Health, VisitLEX, Kentucky American Water, Chef Li’s Private Kitchen, Traditional Bank and Community Inspired Lexington.