Frequently Asked Questions

Who can get free or reduced price meals? 

If I get WIC, can my children qualify for free meals?

 Your children may qualify for free meals.  Please submit a completed application to your child’s school café manager.

Will the information I provide be verified? 

Your eligibility may be checked at any time during the school year, and verification of a certain percentage is mandated by the Federal government.  School officials may ask you to send information to verify your income.  Failure to respond to verification will result in your meal benefits being terminated.

Can I apply for benefits if I lost my job?

 You may apply for benefits at any time during the school year.  You may qualify for benefits on a temporary basis due to job loss.  Please return a completed application to your child’s school café manager

 Does the district “forgive” charges incurred before my child’s application is approved?

 No, you are responsible to pay any charges incurred before the application is processed.

 How can I get help if I have trouble filling out an application?

 The back of the application provides detailed instructions on how to fill out the application.  You can call the Regulations Coordinator at (770) 590-4531 for specific questions.

Will an application transfer from another school district?

 No, you must fill out a new application if you transfer to a different school district.  Your application will transfer to other schools in the same school district.

 What if my income is not always the same?

 You should list the normal amount of your income.  For example, if you normally get $1000 per month, but you missed work last month and only got $900, put down that you get $1000 per month.  If you normally get overtime, include it, but not if you get it only sometimes.

 What if I stop getting Food Stamps or TANF?

 You are not required to inform the school that you no longer receive Food Stamps or TANF.

What if my household size or income changes?

 If you are not eligible for benefits, and your family size becomes larger, or you lost your job, or you become eligible for Food Stamps or TANF, or your income changes, you may complete an application at that time. 

 If I don’t qualify now, can I apply later?

 You may apply for benefits at any time during the school year.  If you are not eligible now, but your income goes down, you lose your job, your family size becomes larger, or you become eligible for Food Stamps, FDPIR or TANF benefits, you may complete an application at that time.

 Can homeless, runaway and migrant children get free meals?

 Please call the school to see if your child(ren) qualifies, if you have not been informed that they will get free meals.

 May I apply if someone in my household is not a U.S. citizen?

 Yes.  The application must have the Social Security number of the adult who signs.  If the adult does not have a Social Security Number, check the box provided to show that the adult does not have a Social Security Number.  It is not required that you or your child(ren) are U.S. citizens to qualify for free or reduced price meals.

Who should I include as members of my household?

 Household means a group of related, or non-related, individuals who are living as one economic unit and sharing living expenses to include rent, clothes, food doctor bills, and utility bills. 

. We are in the military.  Do we include our housing allowance as income?

 If your housing is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, DO NOT include your housing allowance as income.  All other allowances must be included in your gross income.

Who has permission to see my application?

 The information on your application is strictly confidential.  No one will have access to the information on your application.  The National School Lunch Act requires the information on this application.  You do not have to give the information, but if you do not, we cannot approve your child(ren) for free or reduced price meals.  We WILL use your information to see if your child(ren) are eligible for free or reduced price meals, to run the program, and to enforce the rules of the program.  We MAY share your eligibility information with education, health, and nutrition programs to help them evaluate, fund, or determine benefits for their programs, auditors for program reviews, and law enforcement officials to help them look into misuse of program rules.  However, only eligibility information will be shared, no personal information, such as income, address or telephone information will be disclosed.  This information cannot be released to anyone, unless a Waiver of Confidentiality is signed.

 What if I disagree with the outcome of my application?

 If you do not agree with the decision regarding free and reduced benefits, you can call the café manager at your child’s school.  You may also call the Regulations Coordinator at (770) 590-4531