Food Service

To apply for educational benefits linked to free or reduced-price school meals, either

• APPLY ONLINE here, or
• Download, print and return an application form (English | Spanish) for the 2025-26 school year
• View the 2025-26 Letter to Parents (English | Spanish) and Income Eligibility Guidelines

Unable to access the forms or need assistance completing the application? Please contact Maureen Clancy via email (mclancy2@socsd.org) or by calling (845) 680-1009 for assistance.

When filling out the application form, please pay careful attention to these helpful hints:

• SNAP/TANF/FDPIR case number: This must be the complete valid case number supplied to you by the agency including all numbers and letters, for example, E123456, or whatever combination is used in your county. Refer to a letter you received from your local Department of Social Services for your case number or contact them for your number.
• Foster Child: A child who is living with a family but who is under the legal care of the welfare agency or court may be listed on your family application. List the child’s “personal use” income. This includes only those funds provided by the agency which are identified for the personal use of the child, such as personal spending allowances, money received by his/her family, or from a job. Funds provided for housing, food and care, medical, and therapeutic needs are not considered income to the foster child. Write “0” if the child has no personal use income.
• Household: A group of related or non-related people who are living in one house and share income and expenses.
• Adult Family Members: All related and non-related people who are 21 years of age and older living in your house.
• Financially Independent: A person is financially independent and a separate economic unit/household when his or her earnings and expenses are not shared by the family/household.
• Current Gross Income: Money earned or received at the present time by each member of your household before deductions. Examples of deductions are federal tax, State tax, and Social Security deductions. If you have more than one job, you must list the income from all jobs. If you receive income from more than one source (wage, alimony, child support, etc.), you must list the income from all sources. Only farmers, self-employed workers, migrant workers, and other seasonal employees may use their income for the past 12 months reported from their 1040 Tax Forms. Examples of gross income are:
  • Wages, salaries, tips, commissions, or income from self-employment
  • Net farm income – gross sales minus expenses only – not losses
  • Pensions, annuities, or other retirement income including Social Security retirement benefits
  • Unemployment compensation
  • Welfare payments (does not include value of SNAP)
  • Public Assistance payments
  • Adoption assistance
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Survivor’s Benefits
  • Alimony or child support payments
  • Disability benefits, including workman’s compensation
  • Veteran’s subsistence benefits
  • Interest or dividend income
  • Cash withdrawn from savings, investments, trusts, and other resources which would be available to pay for a child’s meals
  • Other cash income
• Income Exclusions: The value of any child care provided or arranged, or any amount received as payment for such child care or reimbursement for costs incurred for such care under the Child Care Development (Block Grant) Fund should not be considered as income for this program.

The South Orangetown Central School District is participating in the Child Nutrition Universal Free Meals program, which means complete school breakfast and lunch meals are free for all students for the 2025-26 school year!

What to expect:

• SOCSD will provide a complete breakfast and lunch to your child at no cost to you. No action is required of families for students to receive free meals. Although they will not be charged for free meals, students will still need to use their PIN at checkout.
• Menus will continue to be posted online. September menus will be available in late August.
• Snacks, drinks and additional meals will be available for purchase. Payments for school snacks are made through the MySchoolBucks online payment system. Students will need their PIN at checkout for purchases.

Families are still encouraged to apply for educational benefits linked to free and reduced-price school meals. 

• Enrollment is confidential and enables eligible students to receive waivers for college application fees, qualify for AP exam fee reductions, take a limited number of SAT exams for free and more.
• Applications are posted under the Apply for Educational Benefits Linked to Free and Reduced Price Meals tab, above (and under Forms on the Parents webpage), and may be submitted anytime during the school year.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Breakfast

• What qualifies as a free breakfast meal?
  • Students must select at least 3 of the 4 breakfast items offered, with one of the food items being at least ½ cup of fruit or vegetable.
• When will the student's MySchoolBucks account be charged an a la carte prices?
  • If the student selection is less than a complete free breakfast meal (noted above).
  • If the student selects to have a second meal.
• What are the four breakfast items offered in the school cafeterias?
  • Whole grains (choose 1)
  • Protein (choose 1)
  • Fruit (choose 1 or 2)
  • Milk (choose 1)

Students must choose at least three items offered with one of those being a fruit or an incomplete meal will be charged at a la carte prices. Our food service team assists students in their selection of a complete healthy meal. 

Lunch

• What qualifies as a free lunch?
  • Students must select at least three of the five lunch items offered, with one of the food items being at least 1/2 cup of fruit or vegetable.
• When will the student's MySchoolBucks account be charged an a la carte price?
  • If the student selection is less than a complete free lunch (noted above), then an incomplete meal will be charged at a la carte prices. 
  • If the student selects to have a second meal.
• What are the five lunch items offered in the school cafeterias?
  • Whole grains (choose 1)
  • Protein (choose 1)
  • Vegetable (choose 1 or 2)
  • Fruit (choose 1 or 2)
  • Milk (choose 1)

Students must choose at least three components offered with one of those being a vegetable or fruit or an incomplete meal will be charged at a la carte prices. Our food service team assists students in their selection of a complete healthy meal. 

Does this mean all food at our schools is free for students? 
No. The first complete breakfast and first complete lunch are free. Any additional meals or meal components are charged at a la carte prices. Snacks will also be charged at a la carte prices and are not included.

Do I have to do anything for my child to receive no-cost meals?
No action is required from parents to take advantage of this program. However, we do encourage families who believe they are eligible to apply for educational benefits linked to free and reduced-price school meals. 

For additional information, please contact Maureen Clancy at (845) 680-1009 or mclancy2@socsd.org with any questions.

The South Orangetown Central School District uses the MySchoolBucks online payment system for school meals, as well as AP exam fees.

This secure online payment system provides a quick and easy way to add money to your student’s meal account using a credit/debit card or electronic check. This service allows you to deposit money directly into your child’s school meal account, view balance purchase information for the past 90 days and set-up low balance alerts and recurring payments.

Any remaining balances in students’ MyPaymentsPlus accounts will be transferred to their new MySchoolBucks accounts.

Enrollment is easy:

1. Go to www.MySchoolBucks.com and sign up for a free account. Parents and guardians will create an account with their own contact information.
2. Add your students using their school name and student ID number.
3. Make a payment to your students’ accounts with your credit/debit card or electronic check. Be sure to select the correct account: “Meals” covers Food Service, including snacks; “Stores” is for field trips, AP exams, etc.

A program fee may apply for certain transactions. You will have the opportunity to review any fees, and cancel if you choose, before you are charged.

Remaining account balances will carry from year to year and will be refunded when students leave the district.

Need help? Contact MySchoolBucks directly via email, phone (1-855-832-5226) or by visiting the Help/FAQs webpage at MySchoolBucks.com.

Unsure of your child’s student ID number? Please contact your child’s school.

Parents may also prepay for their students’ meals by check (payable to “SOCSD”) or cash directly to their school cafeteria cashier.

The district’s Food Services uses a computerized point-of-sale system. An account is created for each student and linked to his/her personal identification number (PIN) and photo. Students provide their PIN when they purchase meals and a la carte items, whether or not their families use MySchoolBucks. Cashiers are able to verify the student’s identity at the point of sale and transactions are recorded instantly.

Incoming kindergartners are mailed their PIN prior to the start of the school year. If you do not receive a letter with your child’s PIN, contact Food Services.