Free breakfast and lunch remain available

LORAIN — Lorain City Schools will stop offering second meal options during the 2026-27 school year as the district works within its available food-service resources.

The district announced the change Saturday, acknowledging that many families rely on school meals each day.

“We recognize that this is a difficult change, and it was not a decision made lightly,” the district said. “As we work within our available resources, we must make difficult choices to ensure we can continue providing nutritious meals and essential services to our students throughout the school year.”

The change follows a reduction made midway through the previous school year.

Effective Jan. 1, the district stopped providing complete second meals and limited additional servings to a second entree. Side dishes, beverages and other meal components were no longer included.

At the time, the district said it did not receive reimbursement for additional meals and no longer had enough funding to continue providing complete second servings. The second-entree option will now also be discontinued.

Students will continue receiving free breakfast and lunch regardless of household income. No application or paperwork is required, according to the district’s nutrition information.

Additional a la carte items are available for purchase at Lorain High School.

The district did not disclose how many students received second servings or how much eliminating the option is expected to save. Its announcement also did not indicate whether families would be able to purchase an additional complete meal.

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