Free breakfast, free lunch, full bellies – during the 2021-22 school year, all enrolled Highline Public Schools students can participate in the breakfast and lunch program at no cost, thanks to Highline’s participation in USDA meal programs.

Research has shown there is a crucial relationship between nutrition and academic performance. Menus are planned by a registered dietitian to meet USDA specifications based on the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Many items are scratch-made. Staff in four production kitchens throughout Highline bake fresh rolls, French bread, cornbread and desserts with whole grains and added fruits, vegetables or legumes. They also prepare many entrees from scratch, including spaghetti and meat sauce, lasagna, chicken salad, pozole, chicken pho, butternut squash curry stew, and macaroni and cheese.

Due to potential supply issues, menus are posted online every Friday for the following week. Students and families can find a link to menus on their school homepage under the icon “Meals” and at highlineschools.org/meals.

Students and families can enhance or supplement meals they bring from home with school meals. The school meal is no cost if a student selects a minimum of three components, for example, milk, vegetables and fruit.

Students who are enrolled in remote learning can access no-cost daily meals at Maritime High School located at the Olympic Site in Des Moines.