The Georgia Department of Education
School Nutrition Program announces its policy for free and reduced price meals
for children unable to pay the full price served in schools under the National
School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program. Local school officials have adopted the
following family size and income criteria for determining eligibility.
FAMILY SIZE
|
COLUMN I
FREE MEALS
If family income
is within
|
COLUMN II
REDUCED PRICE
MEALS
If family income
is within
|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
|
0
to 16,237
0
to 21,983
0
to 27,729
0
to 33,475
0
to 39,221
0
to 44,967
0
to 50,713
0
to 56,459
|
16,238 to
23,107
21,984 to 31,284
27,730 to
39,461
33,476 to
47,638
39,222
to 55,815
44,968
to 63,992
50,714 to
72,169
56,460 to
80,346
|
For
each additional family member, add $5,746 per year to the income level for
free meals and $8,177 to the income level for reduced price meals.
|
Children are
eligible for free or reduced price meals under the following:
· Children
from families whose income is at or below the levels shown in the table above.
·
All children in households receiving benefits from the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
·
Foster children that are
under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court. Families
with foster children should contact the school for information regarding
benefits.
·
Children participating in
their school’s Head Start program.
·
Children who meet the definition of homeless, runaway,
or migrant. Contact the school for information regarding benefits.
Children in households participating in
WIC may be eligible for free or reduced price meals. Please send in an
application.
The reduced price breakfast costs no more than 30 cents and
the reduced price lunch costs no more than 40 cents.
Application forms
are being sent to all homes with a letter to parents or guardians. To apply for free or reduced price meals,
households should fill out the application and return it to the school. Use one Free and Reduced Price School Meals
Application for all students in your household. The information provided on the application
will be used for the purpose of determining eligibility and may be verified at
any time with each school district required to verify a sample annually. Applications may be submitted at any time
during the year. Additional forms are available at each school.
For school
officials to determine eligibility, households receiving SNAP or TANF must list
the child's name, their SNAP or TANF case number, and the signature of an adult
household member. Households not
receiving SNAP or TANF must list child's name, names of all household members, the
last four digits of the Social Security number of a parent or guardian (or an
indication of no Social Security number), the amount of income received by each
household member identified by source and frequency, and the signature of an
adult household member certifying that the information provided is
correct. An application that is not
complete cannot be approved.
Under the provisions of this policy, a school official will
review applications and determine eligibility. If a parent is dissatisfied with
the determination, he/she may contact the school either orally or in writing.
The information provided
by the household is confidential and will be used for the purpose of
determining eligibility and verifying data. We may inform officials connected
with other child nutrition, health, and education programs of the information
on your form to determine benefits for those programs or for funding and/or
evaluation purposes.
A child’s free or
reduced price eligibility status from the previous year will continue in the
same school district for up to 30 operating days in the new school year. If a
new application is not approved or the child is not directly certified by this
time, meals will be charged at the full price.
If a household
member becomes unemployed or if the household size increases, the household
should contact the school. Such changes
may make the children of the household eligible for benefits if the household's
income falls at or below the levels shown above.
The Richard B. Russell 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 for free or
reduced price meals. You must include
the last four digits of the Social Security number of an adult household
member. The last four digits of the Social
Security number is not required when you apply on behalf of a foster child or
you list a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program or when you indicate that the
adult household member signing the application does not have a Social Security
number. We will use your information to
determine if your child is eligible for free or reduced price meals, and for
administration and enforcement of the lunch and breakfast programs. 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 violations of program rules.
Non-Discrimination
Statement: This explains what
to do if you believe you have been treated unfairly.
In
accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices,
and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs
are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex,
disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in
any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons
with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program
information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language,
etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for
benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard
of hearing, or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages
other than English.
To
file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA
Program Discrimination Complaint Form,
(AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a
letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information
requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866)
632-9992. Submit your completed form or
letter to USDA by:
(1) mail: U.S.
Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) fax: (202)
690-7442; or
(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov
This
institution is an equal opportunity provider.