Dozens of schools in Wake County will offer free breakfast and lunch to all students for this upcoming school year.
This year, 44 Wake County schools will offer free meals to all students without requiring families to fill out paperwork. Federal funds cover the costs for these free meals.
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Parents who want their child to receive free or discounted meals can fill out a meal benefits application if their child does not attend one of the dozens of schools. They must meet income requirements to be eligible.
The Wake County school board has raised school meal prices four years in a row. For the 2025-26 school year, a full lunch costs $3.75 in elementary schools and $4.00 in middle and high schools.
The program – the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) – is sponsored by the USDA. Families with students in CEP schools don't need to qualify or apply for the meals. All students in CEP schools are automatically eligible for free breakfast and lunch.
Wake County and Child Nutrition Services have partnered to fund the Universal Free Breakfast Program again this year.
The program offers free breakfast for students at the following schools for the 2025-26 school year:
- Carroll Magnet Middle
- Durant Road Elementary
- Garner Magnet High
- Reedy Creek Elementary
- South Garner High
If your student attends one of these schools, they will receive free meals (breakfast and lunch) at school for the 2025-26 school year:
- Aversboro Elementary
- Barwell Elementary
- Beaverdam Elementary
- Brentwood Elementary
- Bugg Elementary
- Carver Elementary
- Centennial Campus Magnet Middle
- Connections Academy
- Creech Road Elementary
- East Garner Elementary
- East Garner Middle
- East Millbrook Magnet Middle
- Forestville Road Elementary
- Forest Pines Drive Elementary
- Fox Road Elementary
- Green Magnet Elementary
- Hodge Road Elementary
- Knightdale Elementary
- Lockhart Elementary
- Longview
- Millbrook Magnet Elementary and the Early Learning Center at Memory Road
- Mount Vernon Middle
- Neuse River Middle
- North Garner Middle
- Phillips High
- River Bend Elementary
- River Bend Middle
- River Oaks Middle
- Rogers Lane Elementary
- SCORE Academy
- Smith Magnet Elementary
- Southeast Raleigh Elementary
- Southeast Raleigh Magnet High
- Timber Drive Elementary
- Vandora Springs Elementary
- Wakelon Elementary
- Walnut Creek Elementary
- Wilburn Elementary
- Wildwood Forest Elementary
- Wendell Elementary
- Wendell Middle
- Yates Mill Elementary
- Zebulon Elementary
- Zebulon Middle