Mark Hicks, Director of Food Service.
Phone: (845)-486-4491

Here at the Arlington Food Service Department, we are guided in our mission to exceed our customers' expectations by utilizing a process of continuous improvement. We are dedicated to providing the best available nutritional components and incorporating them into a wide variety of menu choices that offer great value to our students and staff. Our team is committed to preparing healthy yet interesting meals that surpass the dietary guidelines as defined by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, administered by the USDA.

If your student receives Free and Reduced Lunch already you still must fill out an application each school year to renew their participation in that program.

 Click Here for applications for Free and Reduced Meals for the 2023-2024 school year. Paper copies will be available at each school.

Welcome back to the 2023-2024 school year! 

The new School Year is here and we continue our mission of providing all students with healthy meals and snacks! It is important that you update your My School Bucks. com account and be sure to link an active debit or credit card account so you can continue to properly fund your students meal purchases. Each year we strive to keep the cost of meals and snacks as low as possible. However, we do face obsticles as the supply chain issues remain and the ever inflating cost of meats and groceries continue to effect us all.

Meal Prices for 2023-2024 : 

The Two Most Frequently asked Questions about School Lunch.

I pay my taxes. Why do I have to pay for lunch?

Your food service department is not funded by the local school district budget. We rely on earned revenue at each school and reimbursements from the Federal Government along with grants from the Department of Defense and the New York State Office of General Services, known as "Commodities Awards", to keep our program going. Basically, school lunch is funded by the USDA and Administered by the State to each district. Local funds are not applied unless dire financial needs impact the departments' ability to operate. This is rare.

Isn't it a law that school lunch is free?

No. What became known as "Universal Free Lunch" grew out of the Pandemic Relief efforts and was extended to all schools to help all students during the pandemic. It was always voluntary to join the program so long as the School District applied for and were granted the waivers to do so. It was funded by increased reimbursements from the USDA and some money from New York State. The program ended and we resumed the regular National School Lunch program as authorised by the USDA. This was known as the New York States "return to normal" efforts.

Please contact the Food Services Department at (845)-486-4491 with any questions. 

District Wellness Policy:

The District Wellness Policy can be found at the following link to the Policy Manual:  https://www.arlingtonschools.org/cms/lib/NY02215626/Centricity/Domain/27/WellnessPolicy17.pdf

Wellness Committee Triennial Policy Review 08/01/2022.  

Wellness Assessment

The Dutchess County Summer Food Service Program

 A great way to ensure that kids get the healthy food they enjoy during the school year, even when schools are not in session. All kids are invited to drop by locations in Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Amenia/Millerton and Wappingers for a meal, activities, or both!

The summer meals opportunities in Dutchess County are collaborative efforts with various locations and hours.

Parents are encouraged to call 845-677-8223 extension 110 to find out more about all the Summer Food Service Programs being offered in your area. 

Click Here for More Information: Summer Food Service Program