FREE SCHOOL MEALS FOR ALL STUDENTS!

*The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the extension of free school meals for all students now through June 30, 2022. This extension allows Natick to serve free meals to all students.*

This means that every student in the Natick Public Schools is entitled to a free meal!

If you are a family (in Natick PS) that might need free or reduced eligibility for other activities in NPS, we encourage you to complete an application. See our Free & Reduced section below.

Please note that a la carte offerings & additional entrees will be available for a charge.

Meals 22/23 SY:

We want to update you regarding the free school meals that Natick Public Schools has been able to serve to your children since the beginning of COVID in March 2020. When COVID started, the federal government created a national policy that allowed schools in the entire country to provide free meals to all students. As of now, it is likely that this national policy will end on June 30^th. We hope this is not the case, but we want to be prepared and want to give all families time to prepare for this change.

What this means for Natick Public Schools families is that next school year we may return to the traditional system, where students receive free, reduced-price, or full-price meals based upon income status. To ensure we can provide free or reduced-price meals to as many families as possible, we will need families to complete the household Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals in July 2022 for next school year. Please note that this does not affect the remainder of the current school year. We will continue to offer free breakfast and lunch to ALL students until this school year ends June 21 or 22.

The most important thing that you can do to prepare for the start of school is to complete the 22-23 MA Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals, which will be available in July 2022. We strongly encourage ALL families to submit this form as it is very important to the district’s records and allows us to also waive additional fees for those who qualify.

In addition, please consider applying for SNAP, the federal nutrition program that provides eligible residents with monthly financial assistance to purchase groceries. While the 22-23 MA Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals is not available to complete until July, the application for SNAP is available now. More SNAP information can be found at gettingsnap.org.

The food services department at NPS thanks you for your patience during this anticipated change and we understand the burden that this may place on many families. As always, we are grateful for the opportunity to provide nourishing and healthy meals to all NPS students.