Yuma School District One offers free summer meals for children

Free breakfast and lunch can cut a real weekly cost for Yuma families this summer, especially when school is out and grocery bills, child care and long, hot days can stretch a household budget. Yuma School District One started serving meals June 1 for children 18 and younger, turning six school cafeterias into weekday food stops for families that need help keeping kids fed.

The district’s Child Nutrition Department said the sites are open to the public Monday through Friday at 4th Ave Jr High, McGraw, Carver, O.C. Johnson, Palmcroft and Desert Mesa. Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and lunch runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The program is posted to run through July 17, giving families six weeks of weekday access.

For a child who eats both meals Monday through Friday, the program can replace 10 meals a week. That matters most for parents who depend on school breakfast and lunch during the academic year and now have to cover those meals at home. Children must be present to receive the meals, and some sites require food to be eaten on site, which can add a transportation hurdle for families without an easy ride across town.

The summer meal service fits into a broader safety net built around school cafeterias and federal nutrition programs. The Arizona Department of Education says the USDA Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option provide free meals or snacks to kids and teens in low-income areas when school is out. The Arizona Food Bank Network says all Arizona children and teens ages 18 and younger are eligible for free meals at participating summer sites.

Yuma families are not the only ones leaning on that support. Coverage from across the region has noted that Yuma and La Paz county families can turn to local schools for summer meals, and that Yuma School District One, Yuma Union High School District and Crane Elementary School District all served free summer breakfasts and lunches for children 18 and younger in 2025. This year’s schedule keeps that same local network in place, offering a practical buffer for families trying to manage summer spending without letting children’s meals fall through the cracks.