The Mesa Public Schools Foundation is bringing back its summer literacy initiative, Stick 2 Reading (formerly Feed to Read). From June 5 to June 29, all children age 18 and younger can get a free lunch and free book for their home library at the locations listed here. Please note each school's specific event schedule and stay tuned for more information on special guest appearances. Announcements will be made weekly on our Facebook page, facebook.com/mpsaz and facebook.com/mpsenespanol.

The school year is over and summer fun is about to begin! Mesa Public Schools is offering the USDA Summer Food Service Program. This program provides FREE breakfast and lunch for children 18 years of age and younger at participating sites. Free meals are available in the cafeteria during meal service times. Meals are not available for "grab & go", per USDA regulations. Adults can eat breakfast for $2.75 and lunch for $4.75. For a listing of locations, dates, and times, please click here.

The Summer Food Program is available throughout Arizona, visit AZ Health Zone for more information on participating sites.

Starting May 23, 2023, our meal payments platform, Titan Family Portal, will be upgraded to LINQ Connect. Be sure to download the new LINQ Connect app in the Google Play Store (available now) and the Apple Store (available soon) or visit LINQConnect.com if you use a browser. If you have setup a Titan Family Portal account, there is no need to change your username or password. All your information will be transferred to the new site for your convenience.

If you don’t use our online meal payments portal, LINQ Connect allows you to:

• Set up one-time or recurring payments for your students’ meals
• View previous transactions
• Set spending limits
• Transfer funds between students
• Set low-balance notifications
• And more

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding this change, please visit: www.mpsaz.org/food/linqconnect

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) to administer Summer 2023 P-EBT in partnership with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). Students meeting the eligibility requirements will qualify to receive the Summer 2023 one-time P-EBT benefit of $120 per eligible student. It is projected DES will begin issuing Summer P-EBT benefits in August 2023.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for Summer 2023 P-EBT:

• Student must be enrolled in May 2023 in a participating National School Lunch Program (NSLP) site (All MPS schools participate in NSLP)
  
  
• Student is determined eligible for free or reduced-price meals (meal application or direct certification) by the last day of the academic school year (May 25, 2023)

Ensure your address is up-to-date as we will be reporting the mailing address from the district’s student information system. Please contact your child’s school to update your information.

The former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman announced that the Arizona Department of Education will allocate $6.75 million in pandemic relief funds to waive fees for students qualifying for reduced-price school meals. Beginning in January 2023, this investment will make school meals free for Arizona students that qualify for reduced-price meals through the end of the 2023-2024 school year. A new meal application will be need to be submitted for the 2023-2024 school year after July 1, 2023, to qualify for this benefit next school year.

Free and reduced meals are available to those families that qualify based on the Federal Eligibility Income Guidelines released by the USDA each school year. Meal applications are available online; paper meal applications are available at school offices, cafeterias and the Food and Nutrition Department offices at 143 S. Alma School Road, Mesa, Arizona 85210. To fill out an online application, please visit: https://www.mpsaz.org/food/meal-applications/

Families are encouraged to submit a school meal application for free or reduced-price meal benefits because this information may be used for other programs, such as Federal and State funding for your school, reduced registration fees for academic tests, free or discounted fees for athletic programs, discounted rates for internet service, and many more.

The application process, online or paper, can take less than 10 minutes to complete. It can take up to 10 business days to process your meal application. 

It is not necessary to fill out a paper application if you have completed the online application.

We are looking for energetic, caring individuals to join our team of school food service professionals! Starting pay is $16.26 per hour.

Job Perks:

• Part-time positions available throughout the District
• Work Monday-Friday with time off when school is not in session
• Guaranteed hours, with no nights or weekends
• Complimentary meal every day you work
• Training provided in all areas of food production, customer service & cash handling

Apply online at: https://mpsaz.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=18216

Please call (480) 472-0900 if you have questions.

Mesa Public Schools is an equal opportunity provider.