Who is eligible for reduced lunches at schools

Related Information Title. URL Name. Related Articles How do children qualify for free and reduced price breakfasts? How does the National School Lunch Program work? How do children qualify for free milk? How does the School Breakfast Program work? On average, the NSLP provided low-cost or free lunches to Overall, about 3. Any student in a participating school can get an NSLP lunch. Students from households with incomes:. In FY , ERS-sponsored research found that children from food-insecure and marginally food-secure households were more likely to eat school meals, and received more of their food and nutrient intake from school meals than did other children.

Note: California has a more stringent law than the federal law regarding Confidentiality and Disclosure. Applications for free and reduced-price meals may be submitted at any time during a school day. Children participating in the federal National School Lunch Program will not be overtly identified by the use of special tokens, special tickets, special serving lines, separate entrances, separate dining areas, or by any other means.

LEAs may distribute the letter by mail, an e-mail to the parent or guardian, or include with back-to-school information packets. LEAs are required to provide the notice to the local news media, the unemployment office, and any employer with large layoffs in the attendance area.

Residential Child Care Institutions without day students group homes and youth facilities are exempt from this requirement. LEAs must include the federal nondiscrimination statement on all forms of communication available to the public. The nondiscrimination statement must be prominently displayed on all notification letters, publications, and posters.

If the material is too small flyers, brochures, pamphlets , the LEA may use the short nondiscrimination statement in a font size no smaller than the text. If the full statement is included on the letter to households and instructions, then the short statement may be used on the application. All participating Child Nutrition Program sponsors are required to collect ethnic and racial data every school year for each site under the sponsor's jurisdiction.

The Richard B. CEP allows participating schools to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without the burden of collecting household applications.

CEP streamlines student eligibility and participation, creating more opportunities for students to receive nutrition necessary to optimize academic performance. Thousands of schools implementing the School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs in New York state are participating in CEP, providing access to breakfast and lunch meals to all students at no charge each school day.

If your child attends a school participating in CEP, there is no further documentation or action needed. Please note that schools participating in CEP may ask families for household income data to support other local, state and federal funding to the school.