Expiring School Lunch Waiver: June 30, 2022

Expiring School Lunch Waiver: June 30, 2022
Posted on 06/01/2022

Dear STGRSD Families,

We are writing to notify you that the federal waiver enabling the District to serve free meals to all children is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2022 and we want to families to be prepared for this change.

What this means for STGRSD families for the 2022/2023 school year:

  • For the 2022/2023 school year, school breakfast and lunch will return to pre-pandemic status.
    There will be a charge for all meals served by STGRSD. Meal prices for the upcoming school year are subject to change. We will communicate with families once they are finalized.

    We will be returning to our point of sale system and students must have money available on their https://www.schoolcafe.com/ account to purchase meals and a la carte items.
     
  • Eligibility-based pricing will return - Free/Reduced/Paid
    Beginning on July 1, 2022, families are encouraged to complete the 22-23 Massachusetts Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals. All families are encouraged to complete the form, regardless of income status, as it affects some district grant funding.

    That application is easily accessed through our school café app: https://www.schoolcafe.com/
     
  • The District unpaid meal charge policy, EFDA UNPAID MEAL CHARGE POLICY, will be reinstated, including the accrual of meal debt. A copy of that policy is available on our website: https://www.stgrsd.org/departments/school_nutrition

    Families that are currently carrying a meal debt from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive information from our business office about paying off that debt before the start of the school year.

An additional resource for families is SNAP. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is a federal program that provides nutrition benefits to low-income individuals and families that are used at stores to purchase food. The program is administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) through its nationwide network of FNS field offices. When families qualify for SNAP, the children automatically qualify for free school meals.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program

The changes outlined above apply to the upcoming school year only. Free breakfast and lunch for all students will continue through the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year regardless of eligibility. We will be in touch with families if the federal guidance changes.

If you have any questions or need any additional information, please reach out directly to our School Nutrition Department by phone: 413-569-6870, or email: [email protected].

Sincerely,
Matthew Lillibridge
Director of School Nutrition
Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District