Children need healthy meals to learn. Valley Central School district offers healthy meals every school day. Breakfast costs $1.85 for Elementary; $2.00 for Secondary Schools. Lunch costs $2.85 for Elementary, $3.00 for Secondary Schools. Your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals.
Students in New York State that are approved for reduced price meals will receive breakfast and lunch meals at no cost. Below are common questions and answers to help you with the application process.
DO I NEED TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION FOR EACH CHILD?
No. Complete one Application for Free and Reduced Price School
Meals/Milk to apply for free or reduced price meals for all students in your household attending this School Food Authority. We cannot approve
an application that is not complete, so be sure to fill out all required information as indicated on the application and application instructions.
Return the completed application to: Valley Central Middle School or to your youngest child’s school.
Free/Reduced Lunch Application (English)
Free/Reduced Lunch Application (Spanish)
If you are unable to access the application, please email: eleanore.mills@vcsdny.org or call: (845) 457-2400 ext. 16896
WHO CAN GET FREE MEALS?
All children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), are eligible for free meals. Categorical eligibility for free meal benefits is extended to all children in a household when the application lists an Assistance Program’s case number for any household member.
- Foster children that are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court are eligible for free meals.
- Children participating in their school’s Head Start Program are eligible for free meals.
- Children who meet the definition of homeless, runaway, or migrant are eligible for free meals. Households with children who meet the
definition of homeless, runaway or migrant should contact the SFA for assistance in receiving benefits. - Children may receive free meals if your household’s gross income is within the free or reduced price limits on the Federal Income Eligibility
Guidelines. Students in New York State that are approved for reduced price meals will receive breakfast and lunch meals and snacks
served through the Afterschool Snack Program at no charge. - Your children may qualify for free or reduced price meals if your household income falls at or below the limits on this chart listed in the “More Information” box to the right.
FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEAL APPLICATION FACTS
When filling out the application form, please pay careful attention to these helpful hints.
SNAP/TANF/FDPIR case number: This must be the complete valid case number supplied to you by the agency including all numbers and letters, for example, E123456, or whatever combination is used in your county. Refer to a letter you received from your local Department of Social Services for your case number or contact them for your number.
Foster Child: A child who is living with a family but who is under the legal care of the welfare agency or court may be listed on your family application. List the child’s “personal use” income. This includes only those funds provided by the agency which are identified for the personal use of the child, such as personal spending allowances, money received by his/her family, or from a job.
Funds provided for housing, food and care, medical, and therapeutic needs are not considered income to the foster child. Write “0” if the child has no personal use income.
Household: A group of related or non-related people who are living in one house and share income and expenses.
Adult Family Members: All related and non-related people who are 21 years of age and older living in your house.
Financially Independent: A person is financially independent and a separate economic unit/household when his or her earnings and expenses are not shared by the family/household. Separate economic units in the same residence are characterized by prorating expenses and by economic independence from one another.
Current Gross Income: Money earned or received at the present time by each member of your household before deductions. Examples of deductions are federal tax, State tax, and Social Security deductions. If you have more than one job, you must list the income from all jobs. If you receive income from more than one source (wage, alimony, child support, etc.), you must list the income from all sources. Only farmers, self-employed workers, migrant workers, and other seasonal employees may use their income for the
past 12 months reported from their 1040 Tax Forms.
Examples of gross income are:
- Wages, salaries, tips, commissions, or income from
self-employment - Net farm income – gross sales minus expenses only –
not losses - Pensions, annuities, or other retirement income
including Social Security retirement benefits - Unemployment compensation
- Welfare payments (does not include value of SNAP)
- Public Assistance payments
- Adoption assistance
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security
Survivor’s Benefits - Alimony or child support payments
- Disability benefits, including workman’s compensation
- Veterans subsistence benefits
- Interest or dividend income
- Cash withdrawn from savings, investments, trusts, and
other resources which would be available to pay for a
child’s meals - Other cash income
Income Exclusions: The value of any child care provided or arranged, or any amount received as payment for such child care or reimbursement for costs incurred for such care under the Child Care Development (Block Grant) Fund should not be considered as income for this program.
If you have any questions or need help in filling out the application form, please contact: The Food Service Department at (845) 457-2400 ext. 16898
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need to fill out an application for each child? No. Complete the application to apply for free or reduced-price meals. Use one Free and Reduced Price School Meals Application for all students in your household. We cannot approve an application that is not complete, so be sure to fill out all required information.
- Who can get free meals? All children in households receiving benefits from SNAP, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations or TANF, can get free meals regardless of your income. Categorical eligibility for free meal benefits is extended to all children in a household when the application lists an Assistance Program’s case number for any household member. Also, your children can get free meals if your household’s gross income is within the free limits on the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines. Households with children who are categorically eligible through the Other Source Categorically Eligible designation, as defined by law, may be eligible for free benefits and should contact the SFA for assistance in receiving benefits.
- CAN FOSTER CHILDREN GET FREE MEALS? Yes, foster children that are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court, are eligible for free meals. Any foster child in the household is eligible for free meals regardless of income. Foster children may also be included as a member of the foster family if the foster family chooses to also apply for benefits for other children. Including children in foster care as household members may help other children in the household qualify for benefits. If non-foster children in a foster family are not eligible for free or reduced-price meal benefits, an eligible foster child will still receive free benefits.
- Can homeless/ runaway/ migrant children get free meals? Yes, children who meet the definition of homeless/runaway qualify for free meals. If you haven’t been told your children will get free meals, please call Ms. Gravel, (845) 457-2400 ext. 16532 to see if they qualify. Email: barbara.gravel@vcsdny.org
- SHOULD I FILL OUT AN APPLICATION IF I RECEIVED A LETTER THIS SCHOOL YEAR SAYING MY CHILDREN ARE APPROVED FOR FREE MEALS? Please read the letter you got carefully and follow the instructions. Call the school at (845) 457-2400 ext. 16896 if you have questions. Email: eleanore.mills@vcsdny.org
- MY CHILD’S APPLICATION WAS APPROVED LAST YEAR. DO I NEED TO FILL OUT ANOTHER ONE? Yes. Your child’s application is only good for that school year and for up to the first 30 operating days of this school year. You must send in a new application unless the school told you that your child is eligible for the new school year.
- I GET WIC. CAN MY CHILD(REN) GET FREE MEALS? Children in households participating in WIC may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Please fill out a FREE/REDUCED PRICE MEAL application.
Will the information I give be checked? Yes, and we may also ask you to send written proof. - IF I DON’T QUALIFY NOW, MAY I APPLY LATER? Yes, you may apply at any time during the school year. For example, children with a parent or guardian who becomes unemployed may become eligible for free and reduced-price meals if the household income drops below the income limit.
- What if I disagree with the school’s decision about my application? You should talk to school officials. You also may ask for a hearing by calling Brad Conklin, School Business Official, (845) 457-2400 ext. 18122 Email: brad.conklin@vcsdny.org
- May I apply if someone in my household is not a U.S. citizen? Yes. You or your child(ren) do not have to be U.S. citizens to qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
- Who should I include as members of my household? You must include all people living in your household, related or not (such as grandparents, other relatives, or friends) who share income and expenses. You must include yourself and all children living with you. If you live with other people who are economically independent (for example, people who you do not support, who do not share income with you or your children, and who pay a pro-rated share of expenses), do not include them.
- What if my income is not always the same? List the amount that you normally receive. For example, if you normally make $1000 each month, but you missed some work last month and only made $900, put down that you made $1000 per month. If you normally get overtime, include it, but do not include it if you only work overtime sometimes. If you have lost a job or had your hours or wages reduced, use your current income.
- We are in the military. do we include our housing allowance as income? If you get an off-base housing allowance, it must be included as income. However, if your housing is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, do not include your housing allowance as income.
- MY SPOUSE IS DEPLOYED TO A COMBAT ZONE. IS HER COMBAT PAY COUNTED AS INCOME? No, if the combat pay is received in addition to her basic pay because of her deployment and it wasn’t received before she was deployed, combat pay is not counted as income. Contact your school for more information.
- My family needs more help. Are there other programs we might apply for? To find out how to apply for SNAP or other assistance benefits, contact your local assistance office or call (800)342-3009.
How to Apply: To get free or reduced-price meals for your children carefully complete one application following the instructions for your household and return it to the Middle School office listed on the Free and Reduced Application. (Aplicación gratuita y reducida: en español)
If you now receive SNAP, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) for any children or participate in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the application must include the children’s names, the household SNAP, TANF or FDPIR case number and the signature of an adult household member. All children should be listed on the same application. If you do not list a SNAP, TANF or FDPIR case number for any household member, the application must include the names of everyone in the household, the amount of income each household member, and how often it is received and where it comes from. It must include the signature of an adult household member and the last four digits of that adult’s social security number, or check the box if the adult does not have a social security number. An application for free and reduced-price benefits cannot be approved unless complete eligibility information is submitted, as indicated on the application and in the instructions. Contact your local Department of Social Services for your SNAP or TANF case number or complete the income portion of the application. No application is necessary if the household was notified by the SFA their children have been directly certified. If the household is not sure if their children have been directly certified, the household should contact the school.
Reporting Changes: The benefits that you are approved for at the time of application are effective for the entire school year and up to 30 operating days into the new school year (or until a new eligibility determination is made, whichever comes first). You no longer need to report changes for an increase in income or decrease in household size, or if you no longer receive SNAP.
Meal Service to Children With Disabilities: Federal regulations require schools and institutions to serve meals at no extra charge to children with a disability which may restrict their diet. A student with a disability is defined in 7CFR Part 15b.3 of Federal regulations, as one who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual, a record of such an impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities include but are not limited to: functions such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. You must request meal modifications from the school and provide the school with a medical statement from a State-licensed healthcare professional. If you believe your child needs substitutions because of a disability, please get in touch with us for further information, as there is specific information that the medical statement must contain.
Confidentiality: The United States Department of Agriculture has approved the release of students names and eligibility status, without parent/guardian consent, to persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of federal education programs such as Title I and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which are United States Department of Education programs used to determine areas such as the allocation of funds to schools, to evaluate socioeconomic status of the school’s attendance area, and to assess educational progress. Information may also be released to State health or State education programs administered by the State agency or local education agency, provided the State or local education agency administers the program, and federal State or local nutrition programs similar to the National School Lunch Program. Additionally, all information contained in the free and reduced price application may be released to persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of programs authorized under the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) or Child Nutrition Act (CNA); including the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, the Special Milk Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC); the Comptroller General of the United States for audit purposes, and federal, State or local law enforcement officials investigating alleged violation of the programs under the NSLA or CNA.
The disclosure of eligibility information not specifically authorized by the NSLA requires a written consent statement from the parent/guardian.
Non-discrimination statement: If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint or discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html,or at any USDA office, or call (866)632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to U.S. Department
Of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by Fax (202)690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.
U=Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities and you wish to file either an EEO or program complaint please contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800)877-8339 or (800)845-6136 (in Spanish).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Reapplication: You may apply for benefits any time during the school year. Also, if you are not eligible now, but during the school year become unemployed, have a decrease in household income, or an increase in family size you may request and complete an application at that time.
The disclosure of eligibility information not specifically authorized by the NSLA requires a written consent statement from the parent/guardian. We will let you know when your application is approved or denied.