No cost student meals ends September 2022

Beginning in September 2022, students who are not eligible for free and reduced-price meals will need to pay for meals provided at school. During the pandemic, all Arlington School District students received school meals at no cost due to federal USDA waivers. Those waivers expired at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

Eligible students can still receive meals at no cost in the 2022-23 school year. Families can apply to determine eligibility for free or reduced-price meals by submitting a free/reduced price meal application. In Washington state, students eligible for reduced price meals only will no longer have to pay the copay for breakfast or lunch at school. Applications are available online here. Paper applications are also available at each school’s main office.

Families should also check their student’s meal account balance. Money can be added to a student’s account anytime. To do this, families may either send money into the school office or directly deposit money into the student’s account through Family Access. Money in the account rolls over into the next school year as long as the student stays in Arlington Public Schools.
If the student’s account has a negative balance, the balance should be paid before school begins in September.

If there is money on a student account that a family would like to transfer to a sibling, request a refund, or donate to another student’s meal account, contact Lori Ginney in the district’s Child Nutrition Department at [email protected].