The Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program is a USDA sponsored program that enables qualified children to receive free or reduced-price meals at school.  This includes breakfast and lunch.

You can complete a paper application, which can be downloaded off the NTPS website, or you can get an application from your school. An online application is also available on Skyward Family Access (see instructions about applying through Skyward Family Access).

Yes, you should complete an application if:

1. Your total household income is the SAME or LESS than the amount on the income chart (see income chart).
2. You receive Basic Food benefits, take part in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservation (FDPIR), or receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for your children.
3. You are applying for foster children that are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court.

No. Only one application is needed per household.  Make sure to list all student names, grade and school.

However, if you have a student who attends one of our 7 CEP schools, you will need to complete a Family Income Survey in place of an application.

HOUSEHOLD is defined as all persons, including parents, children, grandparents, and all people related or unrelated who live in your home and share living expenses. If applying for a household with a foster child, you may include the foster child in the total household size.

HOUSEHOLD INCOME is considered to be the income each household member received before taxes. This includes wages, social security, pension, unemployment, welfare, child support, alimony, and any other cash income. If including a foster child as part of the household, you must also include the foster child’s personal income. Do not report foster payments as income.

Your basic pay and cash bonuses must be reported as income. If you get any cash value allowance for off-base housing, food, or clothing, it must also be included as income.

Household members may not receive some types of income we ask you to report on the application, or may not receive income at all. Whenever this happens, please write a 0 in the field. If any income fields are left empty or blank, we will assume you have no income to report.

Yes. Children receiving Basic Food or TANF benefits are eligible for free meals. Children receiving some Medicaid benefits may be eligible for free or reduce-price meals. You should complete an application including your case number, if you have not already received an approval letter from Food and Nutrition Services.

Yes, you should complete an application if:

• You have not received an approval letter from Food and Nutrition Services.

No, you do not need to complete an application if:

• You have received an approval letter from Food and Nutrition Services that states your students qualify for free/reduced meals via DSHS direct certification (the use of records from public agencies to verify children’s eligibility for free and reduced price benefits).

Yes. If someone else in the household has a case number (other than a foster child), all students in that household qualify for free meals. Please contact us immediately if you feel other children in your household should be receiving free meals and are not.

Once an application is processed, families will receive an email or letter via US Mail informing them of the decision.  It is important student records has your current email and mailing address.

It is the family’s responsibility to pay for meals until the application is processed.  Our office has ten business days to process an application.

Yes, applications must be completed annually.  Applications are only good for the current school year and 30 days into the new school year.

You may apply for benefits any time during the school year. If you should have a decrease in household income, an increase in your household size, or become unemployed, or receive Basic Food, TANF, or FDPIR, you may be eligible for benefits and may fill out an application at that time.

Students that have been approved for Free and Reduced-price meals will receive milk with their school breakfast and lunch. If they only want milk, and not the meal, they will be charged $.50 for the milk. Milk alone does not constitute a reimbursable meal under the school lunch program and does therefore not qualify as a free/reduce price meal.

We accept Cash, Check or you can make a Payment Online. Elementary students must pay in the office. Middle and High School students pay at the Point of Sale. Checks should be payable to “Your Student’s School” or “North Thurston Public Schools”. Visit our payment portal to make a payment online ($2 fee per transaction).

The National School Lunch Program requires all meals to provide five components: fruit, vegetables, meat/meat alternates, grains and milk. A reimbursable meal contains ½ cup fruit or vegetables and at least two other full servings from the five component groups. Students must select a reimbursable meal in order for the school district to be reimbursed under the school lunch program. Only one reimbursable breakfast and one lunch can be served to a student per day. If students wants additional items (extra entrée, milk, fruit, etc.), this is considered an a la carte purchase and the student’s account will be charged.

Within your Skyward Family Access account you can check current balances, see purchases made to date, print meal statement reports, and set up personalized low balance notifications. To set up low balance notifications:

• Log on to Skyward
• Click “My Accounts” in the upper right corner,
• Scroll down to “Email Notifications”
• Click the box to receive emails when your students’ balance is under $5.00. We highly recommend this.

Yes! Fill out this form to request a balance transfer.

Transfer requests are typically processed same day, however, during our busier times of the year, for example, the start and end of school, our processing times will be longer, but no more than 5 days.

Student food account balances can be refunded or donated to the district’s Compassion Fund For Lunches.

• Fill out this form to request a refund
• Fill out this form to donate the balance to the Compassion Fund

Refund requests must be approved by the School Board and can take up to 4 weeks to process.

More information on our Dietary Needs page. You can request special dietary accommodations by downloading this form (PDF), having it completed & signed by a State-recognized medical authority, and returned the form to Food & Nutrition services to have it processed.