All school districts in San Diego County have announced closures in wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, following guidance by local health officials. Many also announced in March that students could begin picking up free meals.
Students between 2-18 can go to any school site providing meals and receive food during school closures due to COVID-19, the San Diego County Office of Education said. The full list of schools offering services can be found here.
Daily prepared meals will be provided free of charge, distributed via drive-thru or walk-up by the district's Food and Nutrition Services department, the district said. Each child 18 or younger can pick up lunch and one breakfast for the next day. In some districts, children must be present to receive meals; all food must be consumed offsite.
San Diego Unified School District, the second-largest school district in California, announced that eight locations would provide free meals to students, weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.:
- Clark Middle School: 4388 Thorn St., San Diego, CA 92105
- Cherokee Point Elementary: 3735 38th St., San Diego, CA 92105
- Sherman Elementary School: 301 22nd St., San Diego, CA 92102
- Zamorano Fine Arts Academy: 2655 Casey St., San Diego, CA 92139
- Kearny High School: 1954 Komet Way., San Diego, CA 92111
- Walker Elementary School: 9245 Hillery Drive, San Diego, CA 92126
- Farb Middle School: 4880 La Cuenta Drive, San Diego, CA 92124
- O'Farrell Charter School: 6130 Skyline Drive, San Diego, CA 92114
Carlsbad Unified School District is offering food service weekdays from 11:30 am to 1:00 p.m. at Jefferson Elementary School located at 3743 Jefferson St.
Escondido Union Elementary and Escondido Union High school districts have opened the following locations from 11a.m. to noon to cover breakfast and lunch on weekdays (with four additional meals for pickup on Fridays):
- Central Elementary: 122 West Fourth Ave.
- Farr Elementary: 933 Farr Ave.
- Felicita Elementary: 737 W. 13th Ave.
- Glen View Elementary: 2201 E. Mission Ave.
- Oak Hill Elementary: 1820 Oak Hill Drive
Fallbrook Union Elementary School District will offer food service from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays at the following locations:
- Maie Ellis Elementary School: 400 W. Elder St., Fallbrook, CA 92028
- La Paloma Elementary School: 300 Heald Lane, Fallbrook, CA 92028
- Deluz School House: 40153 De Luz Murrieta Road, CA 92028
- San Onofre School: 200 Pate Road, San Clemente, CA 92672
- Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School: 110 Marine Drive, Oceanside, CA 92058
Grossmont Union High School District: Students can pick up free meals at the following high schools on weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.:
- Grossmont
- Helix Charter
- El Cajon Valley
- Mount Miguel High
- Monte Vista
- Santana
- Steele Canyon
La Mesa-Spring Valley Schools: Students can pick up multi-day multi-meal packs on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.:
- Bancroft Elementary School: 8805 Tyler St., Spring Valley, CA 91977
- La Mesa Arts Academy: 4200 Parks Ave., La Mesa, CA 91941
- Parkway Middle School: 9009 Park Plaza Dr., La Mesa, CA 91942
- Spring Valley Academy: 3900 Conrad Dr., Spring Valley, CA 91977
- STEAM Academy: 1001 Leland St., Spring Valley, CA 91978
Oceanside Unified School District is offering free to-go breakfast, lunch and supper meals Tuesday and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the following locations.
- North Terrace School: 141 Santa Rosa Drive, Oceanside, CA 92058
- Mission Elementary: 2100 Mission Ave., Oceanside, CA 92058
- Libby Elementary: 423 W. Redondo Drive, Oceanside, CA 92057
Poway Unified School District is offering to-go lunches and breakfast for the following day at all school sites from 11 a.m. to 1:o0 p.m. Meals are free for anyone 18 years or younger or for any PUSD Transition student 22 years or younger. Students have to be present for pickup. The meals are available at the following 12 locations:
- Del Norte High School: 16601 Nighthawk Lane, San Diego, CA 92127
- Los Penasquitos Elementary School: 14125 Cuca St., San Diego CA 92129
- Meadowbrook Middle School: 12320 Meadowbrook Lane, Poway, CA 92064
- Midland Elementary School: 13910 Midland Road, Poway, CA 92064
- Mt. Carmel High School: 9550 Carmel Mountain Road, San Diego, CA 92129
- Pomerado Elementary School: 12321 Ninth St., Poway CA 92064
- Poway High School: 5500 Espola Road, Poway, CA 92064
- Rancho Bernardo High School: 13010 Paseo Lucido, San Diego CA 92128
- Twin Peaks Middle School: 14640 Tierra Bonita Road, Poway, CA 92064
- Valley Elementary School: 13000 Bowron Road, Poway, CA 92064
- Westview High School: 13500 Camino Del Sur, San Diego, CA 92129
- Westwood Elementary School: 17449 Matinal Road, San Diego, CA 92127
San Ysidro School District: Meals are for children aged 1–18. and must be eaten on site. Food cannot be taken from the site it is served at. Breakfast is served from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Seconds may be served.
- San Ysidro Middle: 4345 Otay Mesa Rd., San Diego, CA 92154
- Sunset Elementary: 3528 Sunset Lane, San Ysidro, CA 92173
- Willow Elementary: 226 Willow Rd., San Ysidro, CA 92173
South Bay Union School District: A week's worth of breakfasts and lunches will be distributed Mondays at the district warehouse at 1111 Saturn Blvd. (in San Diego) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In order to receive meals, students must be present or proof of identity in the form of a student ID, birth certificate or other document must be shown.
Sweetwater Union High School District: Distribution will include seven breakfasts and seven, given free to any student aged 2-18 years. Students do not need to be present to receive a lunch. Parents will be asked to confirm that they have a child at home.
- Bonita Vista Middle
- Castle Park High
- Chula Vista Middle
- Eastlake Middle
- Granger Jr. High
- Hilltop High
- Mar Vista Academy
- Montgomery Middle
- National City Middle
- Otay Ranch High
- San Ysidro High
- Southwest Middle
Vista Unified School District Students can pick up multi-day multi-meal packs on Mondays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:3O p.m.:
- Foothill Oak Elementary: 1370 Oak Drive, Vista CA 92084
- Grapevine Elementary: 630 Grapevine Road, Vista, CA 92083
- Liz Duran Park: 340 E. Townsite Drive, Vista CA 92084
- Mary Lou Clack Center: 125 W. California Ave., Vista CA 92083
- Rancho Buena Vista High: 1601 Longhorn Drive, Vista, CA 92081
- Roosevelt Middle: 850 Sagewood Drive, Oceanside, CA 92057
- Vista Adult Transitional Center: 305 East Bobier St., Vista CA 92083
This is not a complete list of every school district in the county. Please check with your local district for the latest.
Click here for the San Diego County Office of Education's list of meal service sites.
In addition to the aforementioned information, the California Department of Education's mobile app "CA Meals for Kids" has been updated to help families find meals amid the school closures.
More Coronavirus News
More Than 250,000 Students in County Eligible for Pandemic EBT Benefits
The San Diego Hunger Coalition is reminding residents that more than 250,000 students in the county are eligible for Pandemic EBT benefits to help them and their families buy groceries during these difficult times.
Students who received free or reduced-price lunch during school are eligible for a one-time payment of up to $365 in groceries, depending on how many eligible children are in the household, the county said. Those same students are also able to obtain grab-n-go meals that are being distributed by schools and community organizations. Click HERE for more information.
