This year, the PA state budget includes Free Breakfast service for all students. Additionally, students identified as eligible for reduced-priced lunches will not be charged for their meals during the 2025-2026 school year. The 2025-2026 Halifax Cafeteria lunch costs: $2.75 for Elementary and $2.95 for Middle & High School. *** Your child(ren) may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. An online application to see if you qualify can be accessed at Compass PA or, an electronic application can be completed through the School Cafe App.

Click here for the current Wildcat Cafeteria Menus

Halifax Area School District Student Cafeteria Account Procedures

The Halifax Area School District uses XpressPoint, to manage all student cafeteria accounts and activities. XpressPoint merges information with PowerSchool on a daily basis. So you may not be able to see your child's cafeteria transactions, but their account balances will be updated into PowerSchool every afternoon. If you would like to see your child's food transactions, please utilize the School Cafe App. The following are procedures for new and returning students:

Student Account numbers: Returning students will keep their previously assigned lunch account numbers (their student I.D. number).  New students will be assigned a student I.D. number which will also serve as their lunch account number.

Depositing money into a student’s account: Money may be deposited into a student’s account by enclosing a check or cash in an envelope with your student’s name and account number and amount to be deposited written on the envelope. Checks can be made payable to the Halifax Cafeteria. At the elementary school students may submit their envelope to their teachers or they may drop the envelope in the cafeteria drop-box.  Middle school and high school students are encouraged to submit their funds in the morning to the cafeteria. Any funds submitted during the lunch periods may not be available for purchases at that time. Parents with multiple children within the district may send one check to be divided among their children’s accounts.  Please include all of the student’s names and appropriate amount for each on the envelope.           

Parents may also use the SchoolCafe App to deposit money into their student’s cafeteria account using a credit card. Deposits made using SchoolCafe are directly submitted into the students account and are available for use immediately. Parents using a credit card for multiple children also have the capability of transferring funds from one child to another without incurring any additional fees. There is a processing fee associated with the on-line credit card transactions. Traditional cash and check deposits submitted to the cafeterias do not incur additional fees.  Click here to sign up for SchoolCafe.com and Step-by-Step Instructions. 

Negative Balances: Students are encouraged not to carry a negative balance on their cafeteria accounts. However, our current practices do not allow a child to go without a standard meal because of a negative balance, they will be served. Parents are informed of their child’s low or negative balances by text message. Be sure that your contact information is updated with the district when any changes take place. Please be sure to pay attention to the information that is provided to you so that your child’s account can be replenished within a timely manner. Students are not allowed to purchase A-la-Carte items when they have a negative balance. All negative balances are expected to be paid in full by the end of each school year. Accounts that are not paid will be submitted to the District Magistrate and all fees for this service will also become the responsibility of the students account in question. Please see board policy 808 for more information.

Free & Reduced Priced Meals: If you have not received official information from the Halifax Area School District stating your student’s meal status, for the current school year, by the end of the second week of school, you should consider completing an online application through the SchoolCafe app or at Compas PA. Free or Reduced priced meal benefits are a service provided by our state and federal government to help economically disadvantaged parents provide affordable, healthy meals for children during the school year. Parents can apply for these benefits at any time throughout the school year especially if a job situation changes.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Stoltzfus - our Food Services Director.

Helpful Links - Anything on this page with an UNDERLINE is a link to more information

Current School Menus

SchoolCafe Sign-Up Instructions

Application for Free or Reduce-Priced Lunches, Letter and Instructions to complete the application. For Meal Price assistance information in Spanish: Application and Instructions.

If additional assistance is required to translate this information, please contact Elizabeth Stoltzfus or call 717.896.3416 ext. 126.

Medical Plan Request Form

A Medical Plan of Care is available for families of students who have been identified with food-related concerns. In order for the HASD Cafeteria to be a part of your child's health plan, we must be working as a team from the same source of information. Please feel free to reach out to the district nurse, Maria Palmer at Ext 224 and Elizabeth Stoltzfus, to begin the process of helping to keep our wildcat students safe and healthy.

Summer Meal Information

Just because the school year ends, that doesn't mean that we stop caring about student nutrition and access to healthy meals. Although Halifax does not participate with supplying summer meals to all of our school-aged children, summer meal programs are still available in other locations.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.