More than 67,000 Fairfax County Public Schools students qualify for free or reduced-price meals during the school year. With summer break underway, most of those families are on their own.

Nationally, 87 percent of children who depend on school meals never access a summer alternative, according to No Kid Hungry. In a district where 37 percent of students are classified as Economically Disadvantaged, that gap affects families across the Reston area.

Three Reston-area sites serving free meals

FCPS is running free summer meal sites at three Reston-area schools: Aldrin Elementary, serving breakfast and lunch through Friday, July 31; Lake Anne Elementary through Friday, July 24; and Forest Edge Elementary through Thursday, July 30. All three serve breakfast from 9 to 10 a.m. and lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Hutchison Elementary in Herndon, which draws Reston-area families, runs the longest schedule, through Friday, August 21.

No application is required. Any child 18 or younger can walk in and eat, regardless of school enrollment.

Families can reach FCPS Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800 or [email protected]. Additional summer meal sites across Northern Virginia are listed on the USDA Summer Meals Sites Finder at fna.usda.gov/sfsp/sitefinder.

SUN Bucks adds $120 per child

Virginia's SUN Bucks program, a form of Summer EBT, began loading a one-time $120 grocery benefit onto eligible families' cards on Monday, June 29. The benefit works at any SNAP-accepting grocery store or farmers market.

VDSS Commissioner Duke Storen said in a June 15 press release that more than 650,000 Virginia children received SUN Bucks in 2025 and that the state aims to reach every eligible child this year. About 85 percent of eligible children are automatically enrolled if their household already receives SNAP, TANF, income-based Medicaid, or free and reduced-price school meals. Families not automatically enrolled can apply at VirginiaSunBucks.com through Monday, August 31.

The two programs stack. A child can eat free meals at a summer site and receive SUN Bucks grocery benefits at the same time.

Rising costs add pressure

Grocery prices in May were 2.7 percent higher than a year earlier, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Feeding America estimates 14 percent of Virginia children experience food insecurity. Meanwhile, Virginia SNAP participation dropped by more than 114,000 people between July 2025 and March 2026, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

School meals resume when FCPS students return on Monday, August 24. During the 2025-26 school year, the district served an average of 31,560 breakfasts and 77,458 lunches each day.