IMPORTANT 2024-2025 STUDENT MEAL PRICE NEWS

ALL Middle Country Schools have been approved for Community Eligible Provision (CEP) for the

2024-2025 school year.

What does this mean,

All students attending a Middle Country CSD school building can receive a free/no-charge breakfast and lunch meal on days when school is in session for the 2024-2025 school year.

Free and Reduced-Price Meal Applications are no longer required to participate in the NO CHARGE /FREE meal program. Households not certified for free meal benefits through NYS Direct Certification are asked to complete the 2024-2025 Household Income Eligibility Form. The income form is used to determine eligibility for additional State and Federal benefits for the school district and students; specifically linked to the amount of Title 1 funding the District receives.

Families experiencing financial hardship or requiring financial assistance should be informed about other assistance programs like SNAP or Medicaid.

Hunger Solutions, Phone (518) 436-8757, Toll Free (800) 865-5542

info@HungerSolutionsNY.org

or

Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, 110 Walt Whitman Road, suite 101, Huntington Station, New York 11746. Maria Carvajal (631) 579-7051, mcarvajal@hwcli.com

Additional resources are available on the District Wellness page.

Please know that PAID student meals will resume next school year, if federal and state funding is not approved to support CEP program operations. As a result of limited funding, student meal prices must significantly increase to enable the food service program to support its operational costs financially. To sustain a stable financial CEP/no-charge meal program in future school years, the District must have 62.9% of its students qualified for free meal benefits through an NYS Direct Certification program such as SNAP, Free Medicaid, Documented Homeless, Foster, Runaway, or Migrant.

Cost Comparison regarding student meal prices under a NON-CEP approved program.