While free meals for all students have been a welcome relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, these benefits will end at the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year. When the Coronavirus pandemic hit, the federal government funded a program that allowed all students—even those who were not previously eligible—to receive free meals. However, recently Congress has declined to continue funding this program. This means all families will need to carry a positive balance in their children's school meal accounts to ensure that their students have the nutrition they need throughout the day to learn.
For many families, the simple task of taking the time now to budget for the cost of your child's school lunches may be all that is necessary. In the near future, updated meal pricing will be available on our District's webpage. Families that do not qualify for Free or Reduced Meal Benefits should start setting aside money each month to deposit into their child's account (MySchoolBucks.com). Keep in mind that you can use this tool to add funds when your child needs them, and even set up automatic deposits!
Some Students Will Still Qualify, But You Must Take Action If your child qualifies for free or reduced meals, they can still receive them, but you must take action to make it happen! If you are concerned that you may not be able to afford school meal prices, we urge you to fill out an application for free or reduced meal benefits as soon as possible to provide free or reduced benefits for the first 30 days of school. Application forms for the 2022-23 school year will not be available until July and will need to be completed at that time. You can find a copy of this application at https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application or contact the District office at 605-725-7105.