Pay for School Meals & Financial Assistance Information
Paying for School Meals
All enrolled students have a meal account through the LINQ Connect Portal. Families can add money to their students' account using a credit or debit card, which will include a small transaction fee. You can view your students' meal account activity through LINQ. No payment is required to view meal account activity.
In addition to the LINQ Connect Portal, prepayments can be made with a check or cash. These should be placed in a sealed envelope with the student's full name, school, and student ID number. These can be turned into the school office or the students first period teacher.
The LINQ Connect app is available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App store. Just log in with your existing username and password. If you use a browser, visit LINQConnect.com to log in. If you don’t use our online meal payments portal, LINQ Connect allows you to set up onetime or recurring payments for your student’s meal. You can also view previous transactions, set spending limits, transfer funds between students, set low-balance notifications and more. It’s an easy way to manage meal payments without the hassle of sending cash.
You will be notified if your child's account has a negative balance. Please contact the cafeteria manager at your child's school to arrange payment and ensure your child has sufficient funds on their account. If you are experiencing a financial difficulty, please be sure to fill out the free and reduced meal application.
Financial Assistance Information
Free & Reduced Price Meal Applications
We encourage all families to fill out the free and reduced price meal application to determine if they are eligible for this benefit. Families who qualify for reduced price pay only $0.30/meal for breakfast and $0.40/meal for lunch. Families who qualify for free meals do not pay anything.
In addition to free and reduced price meals, families may qualify for reduced prices on other important services. Schools also receive additional funding based on the number of families who qualify, which provides valuable opportunities and important resources for students.
During the school year, paper applications for free and reduced price meals are available in your school’s front office or in your school’s café. Paper applications will be processed within 10 days of receipt. For faster approval and processing, please use our online meal application through our LINQ Connect Portal.
School Meal Policy
Should a student come through the line with a meal, but does not have cash or account funds to cover the meal, the following charge procedure is in place:
- Elementary and Middle School students can receive up to five charged meals.
Please note that Madison provides free breakfast and lunch to all students who qualify for free and reduced meals. Should you have difficulty paying for your child’s meals, we encourage you to fill out an application for free or reduced-priced meals to see if you qualify for federal assistance. Applications can be found online through the LINQ Connect portal, through your school cafeteria, or the District Office.
Free Meals Available for Students Who Qualify for Reduced Meal Pricing
On December 14, 2022, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) announced temporary funding for schools to offer meals free of charge to students who qualify for reduced-price meal benefits. This funding is effective January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, or until the allotted funding runs out. To complete the free or reduced meal application click here.
Update as of July 2, 2024:
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) announced temporary funding for schools to offer meals free of charge to students who qualify for reduced-price meal benefits through the 2024-2025 school year.
Donate to Help Eliminate Student School Meal Debt
Madison ensures that all students have access to healthy meals during the school day. Student school meal debt is accrued if a student purchases a meal but does not have enough funds on their account. There are several ways you can donate to help eliminate student school meal debt.
Feed it Forward
LINQ offers a “Feed it Forward” account which allows families to add an additional amount to their meal account payment to help provide meals to children. This will allow Madison to collect donations into a school account and use the funds to help students purchase meals.
All for Lunch
Madison has partnered with the nonprofit organization All for Lunch to accept donations towards eliminating student meal account debt.
All for Lunch is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. 100 percent of donations go towards eliminating school lunch debt. For more information and to make a donation to help support Madison students and families, please visit allforlunch.org/MadisonESD.
This institution is an equal-opportunity provider.
Free language assistance, auxiliary aids, and/or accommodations are available upon request.