Charlotte, Collier County parents may need to apply for free school lunch this year

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK)—Parents in Charlotte County may need to apply so their children can get free breakfast and lunch at school for the 2026-2027 school year.

Over the summer, the district announced a dozen schools no longer qualified for the Community Eligibility Provision Program. It's a federal program that allows the highest poverty schools and districts to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students without families having to apply.

All students at the following Charlotte County school still receive free breakfast and lunch:

• Peace River Elementary School
• Baker/Pre-K Center
• The Academy
• Neil Armstrong Elementary School
• Kingsway Elementary School
• Meadow Park Elementary School
• Port Charlotte Middle School
• Murdock Middle School

If your child's school is no longer eligible, you can still apply in the Focus Parent Portal.

It's a similar situation at the Collier County School District. All students at all CCPS schools can receive free breakfast, but not all schools offer free lunch.

Several new schools were added to the Community Eligibility Provision Program for the 2026-2027 school year including Big Cypress Elementary, Estates Elementary, Naples Park Elementary, Poinciana Elementary, Sabal Palm Elementary and Cypress Palm Middle School.

You can find the full list of which schools are and are not eligible here.

All Lee, Hendry, DeSoto and Glades County schools offer free lunch and breakfast for students.