VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The new school year is just about a month away, and amid soaring inflation, one Central Florida school district wants to give families one less thing to worry over.

Volusia County Schools announced that complimentary breakfast and lunch would be available for all students in county-run schools.

Families will no longer have to fill out an application to be eligible for free and reduced meals.

Parents like Cassie Gonyer are happy with this decision.

“It’s really hard to learn if you’re hungry, so if you get some food in you, it’s going to make that just a little bit easier,” she said.

Gonyer has three young children — two of whom attend a Volusia County school.

As a mother, she knows how vital a mid-day meal is for growing students.

“I think that’s really great,” said Gonyer, while discussing the new free student meals.

On top of her household responsibilities, she is also a virtual school teacher.

Her career began working many years inside a classroom, so she believes anything to reduce barriers to student education is valuable.

Much of that starts with having access to proper nutrition.

“You know, if they didn’t have enough lunch money, they would come and sit in my classroom during lunch to either see what snacks I had or snacks that other students had left behind,” she explained. “Or just to have someplace safe to sit and not eat anything at all, and it was just really heartbreaking.”

All school sites in the district will operate the Community Eligibility Provision —  a federally assigned effort under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

Often, Gonyer switches back and forth between packing her children’s lunch and uploading money to an account that students use to purchase their meals.

Refilling those funds is now a task she won’t have to worry about anymore.

“The price of all food right now is crazy with inflation and just groceries how much they cost. I try to shop at local farmers’ markets for cheaper food and to support the vendors, but it’s still a lot of money for food, so this will be helpful,” Gonyer said.