Yes, you may apply at any time during the school year if your household size goes up, income goes down, or if you start receiving SNAP or TANF benefits (such as unemployment benefits).

Your children can receive low-cost meals if your household income is within the reduced price limits on the Federal Income Chart.

Yes, your scholars' funds will roll over to the next school year.

If your child changes schools within the Uplift Network, the balance will transfer with your child. If you move to another district, please contact cnp@uplifteducation.org and fill out the Google form at https://www.upliftparent.org/Page/14686. A check will be processed within two to four weeks and mailed.

A reimbursable meal is when a student chooses three components offered at breakfast or lunch. The five daily components are milk, fruit, vegetables, grains, and meat/meat alternates. For a tray to be reimbursable, 1 of the three components chosen must be a fruit or vegetable. A student may take all the components offered. Primary and Secondary School students are limited to 1 serving of fruit at lunch; High School students may take two servings of fruit at lunch.

• Example at a Primary School: hamburger (grain and meat equal two components) + waffle fries (vegetable) = Reimbursable Meal (3 components chosen)
• Example at Secondary School: cheese pizza (grain and meat alternate equal two components) + broccoli + milk = Reimbursable Meal (4 components chosen)

If a student has a food allergy, it's essential to prioritize their safety by requiring a doctor to fill out a form (you get from school nurse) detailing their specific dietary needs and restrictions. This information is then communicated to the school nurse to ensure proper understanding and implementation of necessary precautions.

The local Health Department inspects our kitchens to ensure they meet all health regulations. All food service staff maintain a Texas Food Handler card and wear hair restraints (including hairnets or hats) and gloves. They wash their hands between tasks and before handling food. In addition, they check temperatures on each batch of food after it is cooked and between serving times. Food service staff use coolers, warmers, and steam tables to maintain proper temperatures during serving times. They continually monitor cooler and freezer temperatures.

• Paid lunch cost $2.95
• Reduce lunch cost $0.40
• Breakfast is free

The Child Nutrition Program Director of Menus and the Child Nutrition Program Senior Director plan the menus with our scholars in mind. We attend various food shows and conduct several taste tests throughout the year to ensure we are serving healthy items that the scholars will enjoy. In addition, nutritional analysis is performed on all reimbursable menus to ensure the Federal nutrition guidelines are met.

Uplift Education CNP schools follow the "Offer vs. Serve" method.  This means that, by federal law, the school cafeteria must allow the child to choose what he/she wants to eat from the selections available.

The National School Lunch Program aims to provide nutritious and low-cost meals to children. Since this Program is for children, there is no federal assistance or reimbursement for meals served to adults. The value of this reimbursement or aid must not be used to subsidize adult meals. Therefore, the adult meal charge must be at least a combination of the basic reimbursement rate plus the guaranteed value of USDA commodities (per plate) and higher than the highest charge to the child in the school district. An adult should receive the same size meal as a secondary student for the established charge.

Yes, it will update automatically

No. Only one application per household is required to apply for free or reduced-price meal benefits.

We encourage all households to fill out a free/reduced lunch application regardless of income. See income limits below:

Children in households participating in WIC may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals.  Please apply https://linqconnect.com/

Yes. You may re-apply at any time during the school year, if your household size changes, or if the household income changes, or if the household starts receiving SNAP or TANF benefits.

Yes.

You, your children, or other household members do not have to be U.S. citizens to apply for free or reduced-price meals.

Yes. 

Your child’s application is only good for that school year and for the first few days of this school year, through September 19, 2024.  You must send in a new application unless you have a letter saying your child is eligible for the new school year. 

If you do not apply or have not been notified that your child is eligible for free meals, they will be charged the full price.

• To find out how to apply for SNAP in Texas or other assistance benefits, contact your local assistance office or call 1-877-541-7905.

If you have other questions or need help, email cnp@uplifteducation.org or call (469) 621-8500

No, but please read the letter you got carefully and follow the instructions. If any children in your household were missing from your eligibility notification, contact cnp@uplifteducation.org or (469) 621-8500.

You should talk to school officials. You also may ask for a hearing by calling or writing to:cnp@uplifteducation.org or (469) 398-0147

List the amount that you usually earn. For example, if you typically make $1000 each month but missed some work last month and only made $900, put down that you made $1000 monthly. If you usually get overtime, include it, but do not if you only work overtime sometimes.  Use your current income if you have lost a job or had your hours or wages reduced.

Please include all household members on your application regardless of whether they receive income. Household members who do not receive income, please add a 0 in the field. However, if any income fields are left empty or blank, those will also be counted as zeroes. Please be careful when leaving income fields blank, as we will assume you meant to do so.

• Paid lunch cost $2.95
• Reduce lunch cost $0.40
• Breakfast is free for all acholars!

Yes, we recommend creating an account to provide an optimal experience. 

Yes. The system is defaulted to send an email reminder when the balance falls below $5.00. You can change the Payment Reminder by editing the dollar amount on the Payment Reminder card on the Meal Accounts page.

Yes. Once you have added your child to your LINQ Connect account, Click on Auto Pay. Enter the Payment Amount for each student, Frequency, Day, Starting Date, Billing Address, Payment Method, and click Save.

No, LINQ Connect is a free resource available to parents. You can view account balance information, see upcoming menus, review recent purchases, and set low balance alerts at no charge. The only time a fee is charged is when you choose to make a payment or add funds to your student’s account.

LINQ Connect is protected by 256-bit SSL encryption between all browsers and our centralized data center.

Go to the Meal Accounts page and click on the trash can icon on the Auto Pay card.

Once you have added your child to your LINQ Connect account, you can add money by clicking the Add Money to Account button on the dashboard or by clicking the Meal Accounts button on the student card. You can choose to either Add to Balance or set up a New Recurring Payment with Auto Pay.

If you select Add to Balance, the funds will be immediately available on your student’s account upon completion of the transaction.

If you select New Recurring Payment with Auto Pay, you will be setting up a future automatic payment for the specified amount, frequency, day, and starting date that you choose.

If you selected Add Money to Account, the funds will be available immediately in your student’s account upon completing the payment transaction.

If you selected Add Auto Pay, the funds will be available the following day from the day is scheduled to run. For example, if the payment is to be made every Monday, the funds will be available Tuesday morning.

Yes, your information is safe and secure. LINQ follows the highest level of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) to protect your information.

Your account balance moves with your student from grade to grade and school to school (within the Uplift Network). 

LINQ Connect is a secure online portal that allows families to manage their scholar's meal accounts. You can: 

•  Make an online payment to their student’s meal account
• Remotely monitor their student’s meal balance and cafeteria purchases
• Set up automatic recurring payments
• Transfer funds between your scholars
• Set up low balance alerts
• Submit an online application for free and/or reduced meals
• View online breakfast and lunch menus 

Most features in LINQ Connect are free to use, but there is a charge for making payments through LINQ Connect. You can view account balance information, see upcoming menus, review recent purchases, and set low balance alerts at no charge. The only time a fee is charged is when you choose to make a payment or add funds to your student’s account.