Child Nutrition Application

Get a paper application from your school or download a PDF below and return it to the school office. Only one application is needed per household.

Child Nutrition Application (English)

Letter to Families (English)

Solicitud de nutrición infantil (Spanish)

Carta a las familias (Spanish)

Applications are available in additional languages on the OSPI website.

Child Nutrition Applications are NOT retroactive. They begin when the application is approved. Any meals purchased before the application was submitted will be charged the regular rate.

Once your application is processed, eligibility notifications will be posted in Family Access. Please log into Skyward Family Access to check the status of your application under the Portfolio tile. Look for a file titled Food Service Letter.

Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, we are asking ALL families to complete the Child Nutrition Eligibility & Educational Benefits Application (formerly the Free & Reduced-Price Meals Application). Completing this application helps maintain important funding for our schools and can provide additional benefits to qualifying families, like summer food assistance and school fee waivers.

Schools qualify for full school meal funding based on federal or state program eligibility requirements. To qualify for federal funding (Community Eligibility Provision) 40% of students enrolled must qualify for free meals through the various federal programs. The state funding is only available for elementary schools. Because the above schools do not meet the federal funding requirements, they will serve paid meals.

Families who qualify for free meals typically meet one of the following three criteria:

1. Your total household income is the SAME or LESS than the amount on the income chart (download income chart from OSPI's website).
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.

Yes, even if your student attends a school that now has free breakfast and lunch, your family is still responsible for any negative lunch account balances incurred during previous school years. 

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 zero 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 meals via DSHS direct certification (the use of records from public agencies to verify children’s eligibility for nutrition 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 a letter posted in their Skyward Family Access account under the Portfolio tile.

No. Applications are not retroactive, and meal costs are the responsibility of the family while the application is pending and up until it is approved and active.

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 with current eligible applications on file 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 meal.

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 of 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 à la carte purchase and the student’s account will be charged.