JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Duval County students prepare to return to school on Thursday, they’ll be greeted by many changes.
By and large, those changes include safety protocols put in place to help protect students and staff from exposure to COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, which is known to spread in crowded places.
But one thing that hasn’t changed is that students who attend Paxon School for Advanced Studies and other Jacksonville high schools will still be able to leave campus for lunch.
That’s good news for area restaurants, which are counting on the business that students will bring.
Among the eateries preparing to take advantage of students’ appetites is Lunch Break, located in a strip mall off Edgewood Avenue North. Owner Juliana Bahai said customers have been breaking for lunch at the business for almost 27 years.
“We have a lot of businesses around so, a lot of workers, and there are a lot of schools around us and high schools,” Bahai said. “So, we get the teachers, and during the school time we have high schoolers coming in here, Paxon High School.”
Bahai isn’t immune to the changes that business have seen during the pandemic. Besides the obvious adjustments – fewer tables, barriers by the register, markers for social distancing, signs requiring masks – the foot traffic has been different.
“This pandemic has been rough on everybody,” she said. “We felt it. Everybody is feeling it. So yes, I am concerned. As I said, we have a lot of teachers and students coming in. Like yesterday, first day coming back, like planning days, we have a full line of all teachers.”
According to Duval County Public Schools, students who attend in-person classes can leave campus for lunch. Unlike in years past, though, they will have their temperatures checked when they return. They’ll also be subject to sanitary guidelines, like hand washing.
News4Jax spoke with the owners of two mom-and-pop businesses across the street from Paxon. Neither wished to speak on camera, but one owner said he recently opened and he’s banking on business from the school and neighboring employers.
Bahai’s just hoping for the type of businesses Lunch Break has gotten used to seeing over the years.
“Very busy,” she said. “Line through the door.”
Other Meal Options
- For students who don’t leave campus for lunch, the school district is offering in-school meal service. That includes breakfast and lunch, but the exact details of how these lunches will be arranged is up to each school’s principal.
- Students who are enrolled in a hybrid learning plan that combines both in-school and online learning can get meals during last period and for 30 minutes after the last bell. Students will be able to collect their meals to take home.
- As for Duval HomeRoom enrollees, students or parents with acceptable ID may pick up meals inside the school lobby at varying times of day. For elementary students, that’s 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for middle school and 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for high school.