07/27/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/27/2021 10:18
MADISON -The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service recently updated the income eligibility guidelines for meals served at schools and day care programs based on federal poverty levels.
The guidelines establish that students in a household of four, with income of $34,450 per year or less, qualify for free school meals. If that family's yearly income is between $34,450.01 and $49,025, children are eligible for reduced-price meals. The state's participating public and private schools and day cares typically provide applications for free and reduced‑price school meals during registration and in the beginning weeks of the school year. However, applications may be submitted at any time. Only one application is required per household.
Based on family circumstances, certain groups are automatically eligible to receive meal benefits, with eligibility based on program specifics. Those groups include children who participate in, or receive benefits from the following programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or FoodShare in Wisconsin, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Wisconsin Works Cash Assistance in Wisconsin, some programs under Medicaid, and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Foster, homeless, migrant, or runaway children; children who are enrolled in Head Start, an At-Risk Afterschool program, or an emergency shelter; and adults who receive SNAP or FoodShare, FDPIR, Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid participants also are eligible.