Miami-Dade County Public School’s Food Department Announces Free/Reduced-Price Meals Policy

MIAMI – The Miami Dade County Public School’s Department of Food and Nutrition has announced a free and reduced-price meals policy for students attending public schools in the county.

Meal application brochures are sent to all households in Miami-Dade County.  To apply for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch, parents or guardians are encouraged to apply electronically by accessing http://nutrition.dadeschools.net. Households may complete a paper application and return it to the school where their youngest child attends. Complete only one application per household. Applications are available at the main office of each school in Spanish, English and Creole. They may be submitted at any time during the year.

Household size and income criteria will be used to determine eligibility.  These criteria can be found on the second page of this document.  Children from families whose income is at or below the levels shown may be eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch. Once approved, meal benefits are good for an entire school year.

Households that receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) are required to list the current case number and the adult household member must sign the application. Skip section 3 on the application. Free meal benefits will be extended to all children in a household when the application lists a SNAP/TANF number.

Foster children

Foster children will receive free meal benefits regardless of the child’s personal income or the income of the household where they reside and may be included as a member of the foster family if the foster family chooses to also apply for benefits. If the foster family is not eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, it does not prevent a foster child from receiving free meal benefits.

Households with children who are considered migrants, homeless, or runaway should contact the district liaison, at 305- 995-7318 for Homeless/Runaways status confirmation or 305-258-4115 for Migrant status confirmation.

Required information

All other households must provide the following information requested on the application:

• Names of all students in household – provide their student ID number, date of birth, name of school they attend and  if applicable, check the box indicating they are a Foster Child or  a Homeless, Migrant, Runaway or Head Start Student
• Names of all household members –if applicable provide household member’s income
• Total household income listed by gross amount received, type of income (e.g., wages, child support, etc.) and how often the income is received by each household member (in whole dollars)
• Signature of an adult household member certifying the information provided is correct
• Last four digits of the social security number of the adult signing the application. If this household member does not have a social security number, the word “NONE” should be written or an X must be placed in the box “No SSN”.

If you are not eligible now but have a decrease in household income, become unemployed, have an increase in family size, or become eligible for SNAP, TANF or FDPIR benefits, you may complete an application at that time.  Such changes may make the student eligible for reduced-price or free lunch if the household income falls at or below the levels shown below.

Students may prepay for lunch online at www.PayPams.com, or in the school cafeteria with a check or cash.  Information on PayPams will be sent home along with the meal application brochures. Breakfast is served to students in all Miami Dade County Public Schools daily at no charge.  Elementary school lunch is $2.25.  Middle and high school lunch is $2.50.  Reduced-price lunch costs 40 cents. Each school must have a plan for providing lunch to students without lunch money.

FLORIDA INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

FOR FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE MEALS

Effective from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020

NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH, BREAKFAST PROGRAMS / add two

To determine annual income:

• If you receive the income every week, multiply the total gross income by 52.
• If you receive the income every two weeks, multiply the total gross income by 26.
• If you receive the income twice a month, multiply the total gross income by 24.
• If you receive the income monthly, multiply the total gross income by 12.

Remember:  The total income before taxes, social security, health benefits, union dues, or other deductions must be reported.

In accordance with Federal civil rights and law and U.S. Department Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.