As the pandemic unfolded during the 2019-20 school year, BCPS recognized that in order for students to be successful, they needed to be able to meet their most basic needs, including nutrition. According to state data, 72% of BCPS students qualify for free or reduced lunches, making remote learning a serious risk for BCPS students’ nutritional health. In spring 2020, the district began distributing meals to students and their families and accelerated that work in the 2020-21 school year, working relentlessly to distribute 1,276,238 meals between August 2020 and May 2021. In the 2021-22 school year, with all K-12 students back in the classroom full time, BCPS paused its meal distribution program.