One of the complications of opening the Cobb County School District (CCSD) schedule with remote learning only is that many students depend on school meals for their nutritional needs.

The Cobb County School District sent the following press release announcing how they intend to address that complication.

Cobb Schools Announces Food Distribution Plan for Remote Learning

Following Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s July 16 announcement that the 2020-2021 school year would start with a fully remote learning model, the Cobb Schools Food and Nutrition Services began preparing to provide breakfast and lunches to students in a way that best supports the remote environment. 

With the help of a partnership with MUST Ministries, Cobb Schools has already dished up more than 455,000 meals to students since schools closed in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Starting on August 17—the first day of school—parents will be able to pick-up prepaid meal kits for the entirety of the week. Meal kits are available to all students currently enrolled in Cobb Schools. 

Most Cobb schools will schedule meal kit pick-ups on Mondays between 4:00-6:00 p.m. for those families who have completed the online pre-order process on MyPaymentsPlus. Specific times and dates will be located on the pre-order form. Families will be able to submit pre-orders starting on August 11.  

Pre-orders must be made weekly to receive meal kits. The pre-order form will open every Tuesday with a deadline of every Thursday at 12 p.m. in order to receive meal kits for the following week. Local schools will not be able to assist with placing orders over the phone. All meal kit orders must be submitted through the online pre-order form. Any money currently on a student’s meal account cannot be used for meal kit payments. 

The cost of the meal kits, which will include five breakfasts and five lunches, is based on the meal benefits the student qualifies for:  

• Free = No charge for weekly meal kit 
• Reduced-Priced = $3.67 per week  
• Paid = $23.99 per week 

Families who have not applied for Free and Reduced-Priced benefits should submit a Family Meal Application here to see if they qualify.  

The to-go meal kits will include items that can be reheated at home. Reheating instructions and a menu will be provided in meal kits.  

Here’s How to Get Started 

First, families who do not already have a MyPaymentsPlus login should create an account. There is no charge to create a MyPaymentsPlus account. You can access this account via web or mobile app. 

To create a MyPaymentsPlus account, parents will need to know their student’s school ID number. Students may know their number as they use it in the café on a normal basis. Your student’s school ID number is also on ParentVUE. 

During the pre-order process, parents will have the option to select a school pick-up location based on the feeder pattern in which the student attends. If a family has students who attend different schools, they will have the option to pick-up from a single location. The new online ordering also allows for parents to pick-up meal kits without their students having to be present.  

Families will need to save the meal kit order confirmation provided at the end of the online pre-ordering process and provide it when they pick-up the meal kits at the designated time.  

When parents arrive at the pick-up location, they will show the confirmation number along with their student’s name and student ID number. A Cobb Schools Food and Nutrition staff member will place the five days of breakfast and lunch meal kits in the trunk or backseat of the car.  

To help further fuel student success on the go, family dinner pick-up options may be coming soon. Questions? Email Meals@cobbk12.org or call 770-426-3380.