National School Breakfast and Lunch Program

DEDICATION TO MEAL ASSISTANCE

PCSSD strives to assist students and their families in every way possible, including meal assistance. PCSSD strongly encourages families to apply for the Free and Reduced Lunch program. This federal program is offered for individuals at any time of the year as they experience any financial hardships. The application can be completed online or paper applications can be found in your child’s school office.

If your family does not qualify for free and reduced meals and you are going through a difficult time, please communicate with your building principal, counselor, or Student Nutrition Director, Regena English at renglish@pcssd.org.

Despite continually reminding parents that we can help, we have families that do not contact us for assistance. Once the charge amount exceeds a set threshold and our attempts to either qualify parents for meal assistance or to work together to formulate a reasonable payment plan are not successful, we may consider using a debt collection agency. This is a last resort after all attempts to communicate together on a plan have been unsuccessful.

Why can’t PCSSD provide free meals to all their students like some other school districts in the state? The answer is federal funding. School districts that do not charge for their students’ lunches participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. Schools submit eligibility information to the state agency, and unfortunately PCSSD does not qualify based on the CEP funding formula.

There is no deadline to apply for free and reduced meals. If you don’t qualify for that program, we are still willing and able to provide assistance as needed. For questions, or assistance with completing free/reduced price meal applications, please contact our Student Nutrition Director Regena English, renglish@pcssd.org.

NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PROGRAM

Pulaski County Special School District participates in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture and is held to a high standard of accountability, good nutrition and safety. Eating breakfast and lunch will enable students to be better prepared to learn in the classroom. There are 6 ways to provide for your student(s):

  1. Will your student(s) be bringing a meal each day? Plan a nutritious meal that’s well balanced with fruits, vegetables, source of protein, bread and milk or juice.

  2. Your student(s) may want to buy their meals in the school cafeteria and then plan to send money each day with your student(s). Reduced price and full paying students may pay the cashier at meal time or go to the cafeteria before school starts and pay for meals in advance.

  3. You may pay by check. If you have more than one child in the same school, send one check for all students and specify name, grade, teacher and the amount you want on each child’s account.

  4. Pay on-line with MyPaymentsPlus.

    1. Go online to www.MyPaymentsPlus.com

    2. Follow the instructions.

  5. The Pulaski County Special School District operates a meal assistance program, which complies with federal guidelines. Meal assistance in the form of free or reduced price meals is available with both the breakfast and lunch programs. If you have a need for assistance plan for that also. It’s quite simple.

    1. Pick up a Free & Reduced Priced Meal application from your school office at registration or pick up a Free & Reduced Priced Meal application from your Cafeteria Manager 2 days before school starts.

    2. Fill out the application and return it to the school’s Cafeteria Manager or mail it to the Student Nutrition Department at: Pulaski County Special School District Student Nutrition Office 1101 A. East Dixon Rd, Little Rock, AR 72206.

    3. Once the application is received, a determination will be made within ten (10) days to see if your student(s) qualifies for Free or Reduced Priced Meals. Qualification is based on household income and family size. A complete application will include income information by source, social security number and the signature of an adult household member. (Please keep a copy of application for your reference). Until you receive a written notification letter from the Student Nutrition Department that your student is eligible for free or reduced priced meals, full payment must be made for each meal received. Notification from any other source, or any means other than written, is not valid.

  6. If your student(s) were eligible for the Free or Reduced Priced Meals the previous school year, you have thirty (30) days after the first day of school to fill out a new application and for it to be approved. Otherwise the student(s) will be classified as a “Full Pay” student. After the lapse of thirty (30) days, full payment will be required if the new application has not been received and approved by the Student Nutrition Department.