Food and Nutrition Services

  • Boston Public Schools’ Department of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) offers nutritious, free breakfast, lunch, and after school meals to all students in preschool through high school and in alternative education programs. During the summer months, FNS provides breakfast and lunch to sites across the city.

    Learn more, including viewing school menus, here.

    For students with special dietary restrictions, such as food allergies, FNS can provide alternate meals. Please see your school nurse or email SchoolFoodBoston@bostonpublicschools.org or call 617-635-9144.

    All Students Eat at No Cost

    • All BPS students are eligible for free breakfast, lunch, after-school meals, and summer meals. 
    • When they are served their breakfast and lunch at school, students will enter their 6-digit BPS student identification number into a meal counting system. 
    • Families requesting a verification letter concerning the free meal program can contact Food and Nutrition Services at the phone number below.

    Wellness and Nutrition Policy: Healthy Choices

    Boston Public Schools supports lifelong healthy eating habits. To address the increasing rates of diet-related health problems, such as being overweight and diabetes, among students and staff, BPS has adopted nutrition policy guidelines that apply to all foods sold or served in schools that are not part of the national school meals program.

    Do you know why eating school breakfast and lunch is the right idea?

    • Students who eat school breakfast increase their math and reading scores as well as improve their speed and memory on tests that measure thinking and problem-solving skills. 
    • Children who eat breakfast at school perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat breakfast at home.
    • Children who participate in school lunch have superior nutritional intakes compared to those who do not participate.
    • The National School Lunch Program provides school children with one-third or more of their Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for key nutrients. These lunches must provide no more than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent from saturated fat.