School meals — Indian River County, Florida

In School District of Indian River County cafeterias for 2026-2027, breakfast costs $2.00 at every level, lunch costs $3.00 in elementary schools and $3.25 in middle and high schools.

The district's Food and Nutrition Services Department sets one countywide price list, so a lunch at Sebastian River High costs the same as one at Vero Beach High. The 2026-2027 Parent Guide prints the full table, including reduced prices of $0.30 for breakfast and $0.40 for lunch and adult prices of $3.50 and $5.00 (SDIRC Parent Guide, p. 72). The October 2026 menus repeat those numbers. The K-12 breakfast menu lists Students: $2.00, Reduced: $0.30 and Faculty and Guests $3.50 (October 2026 breakfast menu), and the elementary lunch menu lists $3.00, $0.40 and $5.00 (October 2026 elementary lunch menu).

The secondary menus confirm the higher lunch price. Both the October 2026 middle school menu (SDIRC) and high school menu (SDIRC) print Students: $3.25 and Reduced: $0.40. The guide adds two kitchen rules for every Indian River County campus: fried foods are not served, and a la carte items meet USDA Smart Snacks in School standards (Parent Guide, p. 72).

For 2026-2027, Fellsmere Academy serves breakfast and lunch free to every student, and five more schools, including Pelican Island Classical Magnet in Sebastian, serve free breakfast to all.

The district's Notification of Free Meals, issued under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, names the sites: Breakfast and Lunch at Fellsmere Academy; Breakfast ONLY at Pelican Island Classical Magnet School, Dodgertown Elementary, Citrus Elementary, Indian River Academy and Vero Beach Elementary (SDIRC Notification of Free Meals 2026-2027). At those schools no application is needed for the free meal itself. Lunch at the five breakfast-only schools is still charged at the regular or reduced price, so the household application still matters there.

Addresses come from the district's school contact list (Parent Guide, p. 14; p. 15). The list leaves out most of the north county: Treasure Coast Elementary, Sebastian Elementary, Sebastian River Middle and Sebastian River High all charge the standard prices, and Fellsmere Academy, a Prek to 7th grade campus, is the only school in the county with free lunch for every student.

Families apply online through LINQ Connect, selecting Indian River County Public Schools (Vero Beach, Florida), with one application per household that SDIRC Food and Nutrition Services processes within 10 business days.

The 2026-2027 Food and Nutrition Services memorandum explains who qualifies without an income test. Students automatically qualify for free meals if anyone in the household receives SNAP, TANF or WIC benefits, and students who are homeless, in foster care, runaway youth or children of migrant workers also qualify (SDIRC Free and Reduced-Priced Meals memorandum). Other households can qualify on income. The application asks for household member names and incomes, student details and the signature of an adult household member. Incomplete applications take longer and are returned for more information. Food and Nutrition Services publishes the memorandum in English and Spanish, with the Spanish version naming the district as Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Indian River (memorando, p. 2).

Timing matters in the first weeks of school. A student who received free or reduced-price meals at the end of 2025-2026 kept those benefits for up to 30 days into the new year; after September 22, 2026, benefits end and meals must be paid for if no new application has been processed (SDIRC memorandum). A new application is required every school year, and no LINQ Connect account is needed to submit one (Parent Guide, p. 73). The same rule applies in Fellsmere, Sebastian and Vero Beach schools alike.

SDIRC meal accounts are paid with cash or a check sent to school with the student, or by online deposit through LINQ Connect, which may add a processor convenience fee.

For checks, the memorandum asks families to write the student ID number and household phone number on the memo line (SDIRC memorandum). Through LINQ Connect, parents can view balances, make payments, review transaction history and manage several students in one place; any convenience fee is charged by the payment processor and is not collected by the School District of Indian River County (Parent Guide, p. 73).

SDIRC Food and Nutrition Services posts menus monthly and they change, so the details here are as of October 2026. The K-12 breakfast menu lists daily choices of assorted cereals, Pop Tarts, yogurt, PBJ or Wowbutter Uncrustables and graham crackers, with white and chocolate milk (October 2026 breakfast menu). The elementary lunch menu marks October 12 to 16, 2026 as National School Lunch Week (October 2026 elementary lunch menu), and the high school menu advertises National Taco Day on its Fresh Fusion Line (October 2026 high school lunch menu).

Every lunch line also has fallback items. The October 2026 elementary, middle and high school menus each list the same Available Daily options: PBJ or Wowbutter Uncrustables with pretzel Goldfish and mozzarella string cheese, or a deli turkey and cheese or ham and cheese sandwich (October 2026 middle school lunch menu). A Sebastian River Middle student who skips the hot entree therefore still has a daily alternative on the menu. Each menu also carries the reminder to apply for free or reduced meals, printed on the calendar grid itself.

From June 3 to July 29, 2026, SDIRC served breakfasts and lunches to anyone 18 and under at four schools, including Pelican Island Classical Magnet in Sebastian, plus Wednesday drive-thru pickups in Fellsmere, Sebastian and Vero Beach.

The district announced the program on May 22, 2026, with no registration required (SDIRC Summer Meals). Weekday breakfast and lunch were served at Dodgertown Elementary, Fellsmere Academy, Pelican Island Classical Magnet School and Vero Beach Elementary, with all sites closed on June 19 and July 3. Children who were not in a school-based program could pick up seven breakfasts and seven lunches at a Wednesday distribution.

Each Wednesday pickup was a drive-thru handing out 7-day meal packs (SDIRC). Summer school and camp meals were handled separately by Food and Nutrition Services across Indian River County.

SDIRC Food and Nutrition Services, at 6055 62nd Ave in Vero Beach, answers meal questions at (772) 564-5044 and handles free-meal site questions at (772) 564-5032.

The Notification of Free Meals lists Food and Nutrition Services at 6055 62nd Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32967, phone (772) 564-5032 (SDIRC Notification of Free Meals). The 2026-2027 memorandum directs questions to (772) 564-5044 (SDIRC memorandum), the same number the district gave for summer meal schedules (SDIRC Summer Meals). General district questions go to the School District Office at the JA Thompson Administrative Complex, 6500 57th Street in Vero Beach, 564-3000 (Parent Guide, p. 15).

Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the SDIRC Food and Nutrition Services documents posted on the School District of Indian River County website.