Breakfast & Lunch

School Meal Prices
Breakfast is $2.00 
Lunch is $3.00

Purchasing School Meals
Students can pay cash daily or you can prepay for school meals by depositing funds to their meal account. Students access their meal account using their 4-digit PIN number, which will come home with them during the first week of school. Please help your child memorize their 4-digit PIN.

Qualify for Free or Reduced-Price Meals
Your child may qualify to receive meals free of charge. If you believe your family is eligible, applications can be submitted at any time throughout the school year. 

Ways to Pay for School Meals
Students can pay with cash, check or money order for each meal, or you can load your child’s account with funds and the child can “pay” for their meals with a PIN number.

PIN Numbers
Each child is assigned a PIN number during the first week of school that is linked to their individual account (set up by the district). Incoming Kindergartners should have received a letter from Nutrition Services with your child’s PIN number. Older students previously at a Seattle Public School will retain their current PIN.

At lunch, students will key in their PIN to pay for a meal. The Cafeteria Manager at school has a hard copy of all the students’ PINs and can help the students with their numbers. 

Loading Your Student’s Account
To load your child’s account with funds, you can:

• Bring cash, check or money order (written to “Nutrition Services”) and submit payment to our Cafeteria Manager directly in the cafeteria or give it to Karen Rang in the main office. To ensure the money is deposited to the correct account, be sure to include your student’s first and last name and PIN number
• Register with a program called PayPAMS where you can electronically load money into your child’s account anytime by credit card. Note: PayPAMS require a Student ID number or meal account PIN number. The Student ID number can be found on report cards or by accessing The Source. PayPAMS charges users a payment transaction of $1.95 per student for each transaction. 

Note: The school district does not want negative balances on the students’ accounts, but they allow for a minus at the elementary level. Our Cafeteria Manager will never deny your child a meal, but she hopes that parents and guardians will see to it that your child’s account is paid before this minus level is reached. PayPAMS allows convenient access to monitor account balances and meal activity. You can also find out your child’s meal balance information from the QAE lunchroom manager by contacting Nancy Buran at nlburan@seattleschools.org.

Student Meals at School

Breakfast and lunch will be served at no cost to those students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Additionally, Seattle Public Schools has several schools that will offer free meals (breakfast and lunch) for all students. See a list of schools that will offer free meals for all students.

School Menus

Breakfast and lunch is served each day in all Seattle schools.

• A greater focus on fruits and vegetables at breakfast.
• More whole-grain rich items.
• Meals contain less sodium.

Please Note: Menus are subject to change without notice. For the latest menu information, contact your school administration to connect with the school’s kitchen manager.

Free Meals for Students

Your child may qualify for free or reduced-price meals. In all Seattle schools, students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals receive meals at no cost.

You must reapply every year. Qualification is based on household income.

Students who qualify receive additional benefits including reduced fees for the following programs.

• Event Fees
• Field Trips
• Advanced Placement Tests
• Running Start Books
• Associated Student Body (ASB) Fees
• Pre-College Exams (PSAT/SAT/ACT)
• College Application Fees

Breakfast and lunch will be served at no cost to those students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Additionally, Seattle Public Schools has several schools that will offer free meals (breakfast and lunch) for all students.

Pay for Student Meals and Apply for Student Meal Assistance

Learn more about how to apply for nutrition assistance, add money to your student’s account, or check menus and allergy information.