Annual School Nutrition Notification Letter

The School Nutrition program offers nutritious, delicious school meals that meet the needs of the various age groups in our student community. Breakfast and lunch are served daily at all Roanoke County schools except Burton Center for Arts and Technology.

The School Nutrition Program operates under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and is therefore subject to all rules and regulations that apply to those programs.

Families may apply to participate in the free and reduced-priced meal program. Household applications are evaluated according to USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines. To apply, complete ONE application for ALL children in the household who are enrolled in Roanoke County Public Schools. A new application must be filled out each year in order to be eligible. Once completed and submitted, the application comes directly to the Nutrition Services and is processed accordingly.

To apply, please choose ONE of the following options:

·       A confidential and secure online application may be completed at https://linqconnect.com.  Multiple language options are available. The SY25-26 application will open in late July 2025 and families at all non-CEP schools will receive an email from LINQ notifying them the application is available.

·       A paper application may be obtained and turned in at any school site. Spanish language applications are also available, with additional languages available upon request. Paper applications will be available as of the first day of school and at back-to-school functions.

All students enrolled at Burlington Elementary, Glen Cove Elementary, Herman L. Horn Elementary, Masons Cove Elementary, Mount Pleasant Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, Northside High, Northside Middle, W.E. Cundiff Elementary, and William Byrd Middle will eat for free as part of the Community Eligibility Provision as implemented under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Households with students attending these schools will not be required to submit a meal application form for these students to receive meals at no charge.

Payment for school meals and a la carte items may be made in the cafeteria of each school by cash or check. This is a free option for adding funds to meal accounts.

Payments may also be made through LINQ Connect, a secure online provider, at https://linqconnect.com using a major credit card. There is a third-party service fee for using the online payment service. Parents may monitor their child’s cafeteria purchases on LINQ Connect at no cost.

Meal prices:

Lunch: $3.25 student Breakfast: $1.75 student Milk: $0.50
Lunch: $4.85 adult Breakfast: $2.85 adult

UNPAID MEAL CHARGES Policy 9.14

Students who do not have money on account or in hand to cover the cost of a meal at the time of service may be permitted to charge the meal.  Reasonable efforts are used to avoid calling attention to a student's inability to pay. 

Notice of negative balances in a student's meal account are sent to parents and the school principal.  Parents are expected to pay all meal charges in full by the last day of the school year. 

If a parent regularly fails to provide meal money or send food to school with the student and the student does not qualify for free or reduced benefits, the nutrition supervisor will inform the principal, who will determine the next course of action, which may include notifying the department of social services of suspected child neglect.

The superintendent or superintendent's designee ensures that federal child nutrition funds are not used to offset the cost of unpaid meals, and that the child nutrition program is reimbursed for bad debt.  In order to accomplish those goals, the following procedures are followed:

• Communications via automated text message, email, and U.S. mail are sent to parent or guardian with unpaid student meal charges.  Payment is requested and arrangements for a payment plan are offered, if necessary.
• If the debt is not paid and the student has left the school district, it is considered bad debt for the purpose of federal law concerning unpaid meal charge.  This is reviewed and the nutrition program is reimbursed by the School Board general operating funds.