The Minisink Valley School District has amended its policy for serving meals for children served under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Beginning in 2024-25 school year, all students in all buildings will be served meals for FREE.
This change becomes effective Sept. 5, 2024 will be in place through June 30, 2029. There is no action required by parents/guardians in order for students to receive free meals.
This implementation is a result of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expanding access to the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). CEP allows eligible schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to offer school meals at no charge to all students.
It’s important to stress that this funding does not come from local school tax dollars. It comes from federal and state taxes based upon the number of breakfasts and lunches served.
With the district’s CEP designation, all students attending in person can receive one “complete” breakfast and one “complete” lunch per school day at no cost, eliminating out-of-pocket expenses for families. According to New York State guidelines, in order to access the free meal benefit, a student must take what counts as a complete meal, which means choosing at least three of the five components (including a vegetable or fruit). Food Services staff will guide students in understanding what makes a complete meal.
NOTE: There’s no change to à la carte items purchases. Students must purchase these extra items. In addition, only the first breakfast and first lunch of the day are free. A second breakfast or second lunch would need to be purchased. Student accounts must have sufficient funds in their prepaid accounts for these purchases.
Important note:
Even though all students in all buildings will be served meals for FREE, we encourage families to fill out the Household Income Eligibility Form, which may qualify them for other selected discounted services as identified by New York State.
Click here: Household Income Eligibility Form