Wappingers Central School District

8/23/22
Dear WCSD Families, 
The application for free and reduced school meals can be found at the WCSD Food Services website or in main office of your child's school. If you have qualified in the past for free and reduced meals, you must fill out an application each year before the end of September.

In June, we were informed by the NYS Education Office of Child Nutrition and the USDA that the waivers that allowed us to offer Free Lunch and Breakfast ended on 6/30/22. WCSD will begin charging for all meals, at all schools, in September on the first day of school. 

It is strongly recommended that you add funds to your children's "myschoolbucks" account before the start of school. If you do not have a myschoolbucks account, please go to their website and open one there for each student. This office cannot do it for you as it involves your personal banking information.

Please contact the Food Services Department at 845-298-5075  with any questions. 

Thank you and we hope you have a safe and healthy summer.

The Two Most Frequently asked Questions about School Lunch.

1. I pay my taxes. Why do I have to pay for lunch?
   Your food service department is not funded by the local school district budget. We rely on earned revenue at each school and reimbursements from the Federal Government along with grants from the Department of Defense and the New York State Office of General Services, known as "Commodities Awards", to keep our program going. Basically, school lunch is funded by the USDA and Administered by the State to each district. Local funds are not applied unless dire financial needs impact the departments' ability to operate. This is rare.
   
   
2. Isn't it a law that school lunch is free?
   No. What became known as "Universal Free Lunch" grew out of the Pandemic Relief efforts and was extended to all schools to help people who may need it during the pandemic. It was always voluntary to join the program so long as the School District applied for and were granted the waivers to do so. It was funded by increased reimbursements from the USDA and some money from New York State.
    

6/23/22
Dear WCSD Families, 
We have been informed by the New York State Education Office of Child Nutrition and the USDA that the waivers that allow us to offer Free Lunch and Breakfast to all WCSD students will end on June 30, 2022. This means that when school opens in September, WCSD will be reverting to the pre-pandemic program known as the National School Lunch Program. The state refers to this as the "Back to Normal'' transition which is statewide and not limited to just Wappingers.

What this means for parents and students is that WCSD will begin charging for all meals, at all schools, in September on the first day of school. We will reactivate all student categories to their pre-pandemic status of FREE, REDUCED, and PAID. If you have qualified in the past for free and reduced meals, you must fill out the application each year before the end of September. Applications for the 2022-23 school year will be available in mid-July. We will be processing all the applications throughout the summer. The applications are available at your children's school office and on our website for you to download.

It is strongly recommended that you fund your children's "myschoolbucks" account before the start of school. If you do not have a myschoolbucks account, you can go to their website and open one there for each student. This office cannot do it for you as it involves your personal banking information.

Please contact the Food Services Department at 845-298-5075  with any questions. 

Thank you and we hope you have a safe and healthy summer.

The Two Most Frequently asked Questions about School Lunch.

1. I pay my taxes. Why do I have to pay for lunch?
   Your food service department is not funded by the local school district budget. We rely on earned revenue at each school and reimbursements from the Federal Government along with grants from the Department of Defense and the New York State Office of General Services, known as "Commodities Awards", to keep our program going. Basically, school lunch is funded by the USDA and Administered by the State to each district. Local funds are not applied unless dire financial needs impact the departments' ability to operate. This is rare.
   
   
2. Isn't it a law that school lunch is free?
   No. What became known as "Universal Free Lunch" grew out of the Pandemic Relief efforts and was extended to all schools to help people who may need it during the pandemic. It was always voluntary to join the program so long as the School District applied for and were granted the waivers to do so. It was funded by increased reimbursements from the USDA and some money from New York State.