The USDA has determined breakfast and lunch WILL NOT be free to all students for the 2022-23 school year. PCPS and other schools will have to return to the meal pricing structure used prior to the No Charge (free) meals for everyone during COVID-19. Meals had been free the past two years.
The eligibility scale to receive free or reduced lunches, as determined by the USDA, will be based on household income. Applications can be completed online through the district website by clicking on Child Nutrition or Parents and Students, then click on apply now. Applications can also be completed during the enrollment process, happening now.
Paper application copies can be obtained at the CN office or available at every school site. Parents or guardians must complete the application every new school year.
Jeff Denton, Director of Child Nutrition for PCPS, said, “It is going to be a challenge to go back to standard meal pricing after being free for two years. We have attempted to keep our full price as low as we can. We recognize the cost to families and want to be sensitive to family budgets.”
Denton said students may place funds on their account by going to the district website and clicking on Parents and Students and going to MYSCHOOLBUCKS. Funds can also be paid at each individual school site. Elementary sites are calculated and paid by the month. The other sites can be paid at any time for any amount.
There will also be a slight change in the meal pricing for the 2022-2023 school year as follows:
• Senior High Full Price Lunch $3.00
• Senior High Full Price Breakfast $2.00
• Elementary, West and East Full Price Lunch $2.75
• West and East Full Price Breakfast $2.00
• Elementary Full Price Breakfast $1.75
• All Sites Reduced Lunch $.40
• All Sites Reduced Breakfast $.30
“Challenges with product availability are still ongoing and most items have increased in pricing,” said Denton. “We are still doing everything we can to get quality products the students like and stay within our budget.”
Visit https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict to fill out a free or reduced application.
