August 17, 2026
With the return of the 2026-27 academic year, so too returns one of the premier dining options in the Castle Country: the cafeteria at your local school. Carbon School District Nutrition Specialist Tonya Jones joined the KOAL newsroom to explain new offerings across the district, as well as beneficial changes coming to the free and reduced lunch program
Opening our conversation, Jones discussed the free and reduced lunch program: “That program is one of the best, just to help make sure that everybody is getting a good, well-balanced meal. It’s perfect for any family, and to apply is not that hard.Youjustgo tolinqconnect.comand fill it in.It’s very, very simple.”
She continued, speaking about a beneficial change to the program enacted by the state legislature. “So anybody that qualifies for reduced lunches will also get free lunch. You’ll still pay 30 cents for breakfast, but the lunch will be free.”
Diving into what a standard lunch will contain, Jones explained, “So an average school lunch you will always have a fruit and two vegetables, or one vegetable with a larger serving size in it … We always have a meat or a meat alternative and a grain with all the meals. So we try to have a well-balanced meal, fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, things that will help those students stay focused and be able to learn.”
In addition to this standard fare, the district is also bringing in some new options for the 2026-27 school year: “We’re doing what’s called the ramen bowl, which they actually have ramen noodles their whole grain, but they are ramen noodles So they look just like a normal ramen noodle and then the kids get to come through and pick what vegetables they want In their ramen bowl. So that one we are super, super excited about.”
Jones continued, “Also this year, we’ve got new chicken products. We are getting Gold Creek, and they have a chicken line very similar to Chick-fil-A, so it has a little bit of that dill flavor. We’re super, super excited to try this and see what the kids think.”
Closing our conversation, Jones stated, “We just hope that we see a lot more students come in and eat and take advantage of these cheaper meals that are very, very healthy.”
To keep up to date with child nutrition in the CSD,click here
