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New OCPS policy could take a bite out of lunch plans for students who order out for lunch

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — For those who used to “brown bag” their school lunches, this story may come as a culture shock.

Orange County Public Schools wants to crack down on the number of students ordering their lunch using mobile food delivery services such as Uber Eats and GrubHub by banning all food deliveries during school hours.

Administrators say it all comes down to safety: They don’t want the extra traffic on campus, especially when they don’t know the drivers.

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The proposed rule would apply to all campuses in the county school system. Some individual schools already have similar rules in place. Jones High School even has a sign posted at the entrance. Other schools make the rule clear on their websites.

The current policy says only parents can provide food to their children. A school district spokesperson said Monday that parents can still drop off a forgotten lunch.

The district said it doesn’t track how often students order out.

Uber told Channel 9 on Monday that users have to be 18 years old to have an account and that the company tries to be supportive of rules made by local schools.

The proposed delivery ban would apply to all delivery services, not just Uber Eats. The school board is expected to consider the proposal next week.