FCS Celebrates Orange County Educators With More Than 2,700 ‘A+ Lunches’
Program reaches 26 campuses and 18 early learning centers with help from the Orange County Board of County Commissioners and Lift Orlando
ORLANDO, Florida (Monday, October 12, 2026) — Florida Citrus Sports delivered more than 2,700 “A+ Lunches” to teachers and staff at 44 schools and early learning centers across Orange County this fall, its widest-reaching Extra Yard for Teachers celebration yet.
The annual celebration kicked off in mid-September with Extra Yard for Teachers Week, the College Football Playoff Foundation’s national recognition week at the start of each college football season. It then continued into October, with every teacher and staff member at each participating campus receiving a catered lunch at no cost to the school.
The program once again featured schools surrounding Camping World Stadium — part of FCS’ ongoing commitment to The Communities of West Lakes. Those campuses included Jones High School, Carver Middle School, Memorial Middle School, Catalina Elementary, Orange Center Elementary, Rock Lake Elementary, Washington Shores Elementary and the OCPS Academic Center for Excellence.
Lunches also went out to staff at the Bradley-Otis Boys & Girls Club and the West Lakes Early Learning Center on the Lift Orlando campus — and for the second straight year, the celebration extended to educators at an additional 18 centers in Lift Orlando’s Early Learning Collaborative, which launched in 2023 to support families and early educators in the 32805 ZIP Code.
From there, FCS spread the 2026 “A+ Lunch” program across Orange County with help from the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. Building on the District 6 schools surrounding the stadium, commissioners in Districts 1-5 nominated elementary, middle and high schools in their districts, bringing meals to campuses from Winter Garden to Avalon Park:
Elementary: Andover, Columbia, Lovell, Pinar and Sunshine
Middle: Avalon, Bridgewater, Corner Lake, Freedom and Lockhart
High: Colonial, East River, Ocoee, Timber Creek and West Orange
FCS partners Raising Cane’s and 4 Rivers Smokehouse supported the effort, and educators from participating schools will also be honored on the field at upcoming FCS events, including the Florida Blue Florida Classic on Saturday, Nov. 21, the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 29, and the Citrus Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027.
The “A+ Lunch” is just one part of a larger commitment to Central Florida education. Since 2019, FCS and the CFP Foundation have invested more than $1 million in education initiatives in the area.
That support has included DonorsChoose matching grants that have helped 392 Orange County teachers fund 1,029 classroom projects to date, plus a library renovation at Orange Center Elementary, educational components at Lake Lorna Doone Park and more.
