Chicago Public Schools Celebrates National School Lunch Week. Oct.14-18

CHICAGO— Chicago Public Schools (CPS) aims to elevate the District’s mission to serve free, healthy, nutritionally-balanced meals that support each student’s well being as it celebrates National School Lunch Week, Oct. 14-18. A healthy meal can improve concentration, memory, and cognitive function, which are all critical for academic success.

"Students benefit from 274,000 free meals served daily through our school-based breakfast and lunch programs," said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “Nutritious and tasty food options ensure that our students enjoy their meals and can focus in the classroom."

On a daily basis, CPS meals feature fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and milk. Menus feature locally-sourced products year-round. CPS students receive a free breakfast and lunch daily and the District encourages them to take advantage of all offered items. 

Also, and perhaps most importantly, the District continues to prioritize student voice as menu offerings are developed. During the 2023-24 school year and summer break, CPS conducted more than 50 student taste tests and collected feedback from parents and 45,000 students through the District’s School Food Survey. Based on the feedback, the Office of Nutrition Support Services team now offers additional yogurt and cereal options, new rice recipes, and sweet and savory breakfast options, along with continued engagement with District vendors to explore new menu items. 

“Our team often receives feedback from students regarding their favorite and their not-so-favorite food items,” said CPS Nutrition Support Services Executive Director Jason Mojica. “The District is honored to have such strong engagement with the students we serve. Their feedback has improved our offerings.” 

In celebration of National School Lunch Week, some schools will feature breakfast for lunch, gyros, falafel, cheeseburger-flavored mac and cheese; and others will feature a chicken drumstick from a local poultry farm or teriyaki meatballs with ginger rice. Two vendors provide meals to CPS Schools; Open Kitchens and Aramark.

In addition, schools across the District will highlight Farm-to-School efforts in October by participating in events like the Great Apple Crunch, engaging students in hands-on learning related to local agriculture. Farm-to-School activities help engage students in the food system, building interest in nutritious foods and career pathways.

National School Lunch Week was created in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy, to create awareness about the significance of school meals in students' lives. All CPS students have access to free meals as provided through a USDA program that allows schools in low-income areas to provide free meals to all students without any application process. 

For more information regarding school-specific meals at CPS visit the online school menu site, or MealViewer, at cps.edu/mealviewer.

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About Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is dedicated to providing a high-quality education to all students, beginning with the District’s free full-day preschool programming for four-year-old scholars and continuing through neighborhood, magnet and selective-enrollment elementary schools that provide a rigorous K-8 education with schools that specialize in the fine arts, world language and culture, dual language, STEM, International Baccalaureate (IB), classical programs, and more. The rising District-wide freshmen-on-track and high school graduation rates reflect the hard work of the CPS community, including families, staff, and students across 635 schools. CPS celebrates the diversity of its more than 323,000 students who cite 182 home languages. Learn more about CPS at www.cps.edu and connect with CPS on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.