Alpine students are served more than 32,000 meals each school day. That’s a lot of fuel for success. Though affordable, sometimes families can accumulate debt on those meals.
Applying for free or reduced-priced meals is the best way to ensure students get the meals they need for success while minimizing the overall impact on families, according to Kristine Scott, Nutrition Services Director for Alpine School District.
Proactive Planning and Budgeting
“We never turn away a student for a meal,” said Scott. “When parents apply for free or reduced-price lunch, it allows us to reach as many students as possible and help ease the burdens put on parents due to rising food prices.”
Applications for free and reduced-price school meals for the current school year are now open for all Alpine School District families.
Available online at Linqconnect.com or through paper forms in English and Spanish at all local schools, parents can submit applications today to secure essential nutrition benefits. Applying early ensures qualified students receive immediate meal support and helps families avoid accumulating unexpected lunch charges.
"At the end of the last school year we had over 14,000 students with a negative lunch balance and an average of $-40.49 per student. The total for Alpine School District was $-586,362.97," said Scott. “This substantial cumulative balance highlights why prompt application is vital for family finances across the district. Because federal meal benefits cannot be applied retroactively to previously eaten meals, submitting applications early protects parents from carrying unpaid balances into the new school year.”
Families must submit a new application each school year to maintain participation, as prior school year benefits expire at the end of September.
"We work with the state to automatically apply benefits to as many students as possible, but we also need help from parents to create a Linq Connect account and verify that their students have the correct free, reduced, or paid status," Scott said. "We cannot retroactively apply free benefits to meals that students have already eaten, so it’s important to apply early in the year.”
Delicious Meals = Student Success
In cafeteria kitchens across Alpine School District, frontline nutrition staff and cafeteria managers work tirelessly every morning to prepare fresh, appetizing meals for thousands of children.
“You can see how excited students get when they come to the cafeteria,” said Maria Villanueva, nutrition services manager at Mount Mahogany Elementary in Pleasant Grove. “They like the food we prepare for them. When they come to get lunch and they see the menu you’ll hear them say, ‘that’s my favorite food!’”
Students and staff alike are proud of the variety of food available.
“If you don’t try it then how do you know if you don’t like it? There are a variety of different options—you’re bound to find something you like,” said Storie Mower, a 9th-grade student at Pleasant Grover Junior High.
A nutritious meal transforms a student's mood, focus, and ability to learn in class. "We provide breakfast and lunch at every school across the Alpine School District," Scott noted. "We offer multiple meal options every day as well as a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables."
“We prepare the food with a lot of high quality and always be responsible to prepare the food with high quality because our students deserve it,” added Villanueva.
“What I like most about school lunch is that we get to pick what we eat for lunch every day," said student Mower. "After eating your lunch you feel energized to go on with your day."
By partnering together early in the school year, parents and district staff can eliminate lunch debt, reduce family stress and keep students nourished for learning.
Parents are urged to log on to Linqconnect.com or contact their local school main office today to complete their application.