Meal Accounts & Payment Options

All students at any Washington County Public School can apply for free or reduced-price meal benefits. The online application process can be completed on a computer or smartphone; is available in multiple languages; is faster and more accurate than a paper application. 

LINQ – Start your application today! 

We realize that not everyone has access to a smartphone or computer,
so we continue to provide every school with a limited number of paper applications. 

---

If your family is approved for Free or Reduced-price Meals (FARM), your child(ren) will receive their meals at no cost.  The Maryland legislature has set aside additional funding so students approved for reduced-price meals receive their meals at no cost.

Apply any time during the school year after August 1st

• You must complete a new application each year
• All the information is confidential
• Only complete one application for all your children who attend WCPS
• Eligibility is based on family size and income guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• You will be emailed the eligibility status for your child(ren) once the application is validated if you provide a valid email address when submitting the application
• If you do not provide an email address on your application, you will be mailed the eligibility status for your child(ren) once the application is validated

Student Meal Accounts / Payment Options

Every WCPS student has a meal account. We use these accounts to identify allergy alerts, allow pre-payments, and track purchases.  We encourage families to prepay your student's meal account.  Prepaid meal accounts help the lunch lines move faster and give students more time to eat, relax, and play.  It also gives you the peace of mind of not having to look for lunch money every day or worry that it might get lost, stolen, or used for things other than lunch.

Each school cafeteria accepts cash or checks to pay for meals. Food & Nutrition Services accepts these payments daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Below are details about paying for meals at school.

• Payments may be made to the account with cash or check made payable to the name of the school cafeteria.
• Include the student’s name and ID number on the check to ensure proper PIN on check.
• Submit payment to the Cafeteria Manager. Funds are immediately available upon submission of payment.

Online payments are a simple, safe, and secure way to make payments to your student's account at your convenience 24 hours a day.

WCPS uses the LINQ Connect portal, one of the most widely used and secure online payment solutions available today. Visa and other trusted third parties have certified the portal at the highest levels of the Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standard security.

A few of the benefits include:

• Up to 90 days of purchase history.
• Automated low-balance emails.
• Low-balance payments can automatically add money when an account runs low.
• Scheduled payments allow parents to pay weekly, biweekly or monthly if desired.
• Ability to transfer money between siblings.
• Mobile App for smartphones is available.

---

NOTE:
The student's name and ID number are required to set up your account (register) on LINQ Connect and to see additional account information online.