Starting Tuesday, Sept. 2, students at Bel Air, Del Valle, Eastwood, Hanks, and Parkland high schools who qualify for reduced-price school lunches will now be able to receive lunch for free for the rest of the school year.
Earlier this month, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced that students eligible for reduced-price meals can now receive school meals at no cost to their families. The 89th Texas Legislature approved funding as part of the General Appropriations Act so that students who qualify for reduced-price school meals can eat breakfast and lunch at no charge for the next two years, through the 2026-27 school year.
At Ysleta ISD, students enjoy free breakfast meals every school day at the campus. As part of the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), about 88% of Ysleta ISD schools offer free lunch meals to all students in the 2025-26 school year and do not require parents to fill out lunch applications.
But with this new state funding, Ysleta ISD students at non-CEP schools – Bel Air, Del Valle, Eastwood, Hanks, and Parkland high schools – may also be eligible to receive lunch meals at no cost based on their family income. To determine whether they are eligible, Ysleta ISD parents must complete and submit a lunch application, which can be accessed at https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application.
“I commend the Texas Legislature for removing obstacles that prevent children from accessing healthy school meals,” said Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. “Free and reduced-price school meals will open the door for more children to receive nutritious foods that support academic success.”
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) administers the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs in the state of Texas. For more information, Ysleta ISD parents may contact the district’s Child Nutrition Services Department at (915) 434-0120.