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Free & Reduced Price Meal Application 2011-2012
Solicitud de la Familia para Recibir Comidas Escolares Gratuitas y
a Precios Reducidos 2011-2012
Instructions to Apply for
Free/Reduced Lunch Online
Now families can apply for free or reduced price school meals through
the National School Lunch Program online using the Internet! This can
be done using COMPASS. COMPASS allows Pennsylvanian’s to apply for
social service programs. Families can use COMPASS to apply for free or
reduced price school meals only, or they can apply for other services at
the same time (SNAP, TANF, etc.).
You can apply for
free or reduced price school meals online by going to the COMPASS
website at
www.compass.state.pa.us, or you can continue to use the paper
“Household Meal Benefit Application” if you prefer. Once you access
COMPASS, select Apply for Benefits. Parents will select the
programs they wish to apply for and be directed through a series of
questions regarding those programs. Please enter Chester County,
the county of the school when you apply. This may not necessarily be
your home county. Select the name of the school your
child attends.
Once the questions
have been completed, the COMPASS system will direct your information to
each appropriate program office and the school you selected will receive
the Household Meal Benefit Application. The school will notify you if
you are eligible for free or reduced price meals.
If you apply for
free or reduced price school meals through COMPASS, you do not
need to submit a paper application.
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National School Lunch Program
1. What is the National School Lunch Program?
The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal
program operating in over 100,000 public and non-profit private
schools and residential child care institutions. It provides
nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 29
million children each school day. In 1998, Congress expanded the
National School Lunch Program to include reimbursement for snacks
served to children in afterschool educational and enrichment
programs to include children through 18 years of age.
The Food and Nutrition Service administers the program at the
Federal level. At the State level, the National School Lunch Program
is usually administered by State education agencies, which operate
the program through agreements with school food authorities.
2. How does the National School Lunch Program work?
Generally, public or nonprofit private schools of high school grade
or under and public or nonprofit private residential child care
institutions may participate in the school lunch program. School
districts and independent schools that choose to take part in the
lunch program get cash subsidies and donated commodities from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for each meal they serve. In
return, they must serve lunches that meet Federal requirements, and
they must offer free or reduced price lunches to eligible children.
School food authorities can also be reimbursed for snacks served to
children through age 18 in afterschool educational or enrichment
programs.
3. What are the nutritional requirements for school lunches?
School lunches must meet the applicable recommendations of the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend that no more than
30 percent of an individual's calories come from fat, and less than
10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations also establish a standard
for school lunches to provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary
Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and
calories.
School lunches must meet Federal nutrition requirements, but
decisions about what specific foods to serve and how they are
prepared are made by local school food authorities.
4. How do children qualify for free and reduced-price meals?
Any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the
National School Lunch Program. Children from families with incomes
at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free
meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the
poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, for which
students can be charged no more than 40 cents. (For the period July
1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, 130 percent of the poverty level is
$26,000 for a family of four; 185 percent is $37,000.)
Children from families with incomes over 185 percent of poverty pay
a full price, though their meals are still subsidized to some
extent. Local school food authorities set their own prices for
full-price (paid) meals, but must operate their meal services as
non-profit programs.
Afterschool snacks are provided to children on the same income
eligibility basis as school meals. However, programs that operate in
areas where at least 50 percent of students are eligible for free or
reduced-price meals may serve all their snacks for free.
Source: USDA - Food and Nutrition Service
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