Child Nutrition reports first full year of districtwide free meals, audits and summer feeding numbers

The district’s child nutrition team presented a year-in-review of operations for 2025–26, the first full year Cedar Hill ISD offered free breakfast and lunch to all students.

“We were also featured on the news the 1st day of school for 2526,” the presenter said, noting the program’s visibility. Staff reported a drop in breakfast participation of 11.9%, attributing the decline to lower enrollment and a policy change that moved breakfast from classrooms back into cafeterias for compliance reasons; lunch participation rose by 4.9%.

The presenter described operational improvements after bringing food service in-house, including identifying eight positions that could be eliminated to reduce overhead and piloting new a la carte and snack sales (including a planned high-school coffee bar). Child Nutrition staff said they secured 100% on kitchen health inspections and provided emergency meals during a period when SNAP benefits were interrupted, delivering roughly 14,000 meals in November–December to assist families.

Staff also briefed trustees on an ongoing Texas Department of Agriculture procurement and administrative audit, with site visits set for Nov. 17–19 at Collegiate Prep, Lake Ridge Elementary and Bessie Coleman. The presenter said district staff and Region 10 are supporting readiness for the audit.