Free and Reduced Meal Assistance

Households may be eligible for free or reduced-price meal benefits one of four ways: 

1. Households whose income is at or below the levels shown are eligible for reduced price meals or free meals, if they complete an application for free and reduced price school meals/milk. Households may complete one application listing all children and return it to your student’s school. When completing an application, only the last four digits of the social security number of the household’s primary wage earner or another adult household member is needed. 
2. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households, students receiving benefits under the Family Investment Program (FIP) and students in a few specific Medicaid programs are eligible for free or reduced price meals. Most students from SNAP and FIP households will be qualified for free meals automatically. These households will receive a letter from their student’s schools notifying them of their benefits. Households that receive a letter from the school need to do nothing more for their student(s) to receive free or reduced price meals. No further application is necessary. If any students were not listed on the notice of eligibility, the household should contact the school to have free or reduced price meal benefits extended to them. If you feel you would qualify for free meal benefits and received notification qualifying for reduced price benefits, complete an application for free and reduced price meals. Households must contact the school if they choose to decline meal benefits. 
3. Some SNAP and FIP households will receive a letter from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) which will qualify the children listed on the letter for free meals. Parents must take this letter to the student’s school to receive free meals. 
4. SNAP or FIP households receiving benefits that do not receive a letter from Iowa HHS must complete an application with the abbreviated information as indicated on the application and instructions, for their students to receive free meals. When the application lists an assistance program’s case number for any household member, eligibility for free benefits is extended to all students in a household 

No, but please read the letter carefully and follow the instructions. If any children in your household were missing from your notification, contact: Melissa Ortman, 1486 Hwy 6 NW, Oxford, IA  52322, 319-828-4510, melissaortman@ccaschools.org immediately as eligibility for free or reduced price meals is extended to all school age children in a household. If you did not receive a letter from the school, but received a Free Lunch Notice from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)`, submit this letter to your children’s school. You may add any students living in your household who are not listed on the letter. Also, if someone in your household receives SNAP or FIP benefits and you did not receive either of these letters, you may complete an application listing the case number as this will qualify all school age children in your household for free meals. If you were informed that your children will get reduced price meals, see the income guidelines above and if you feel you would qualify for free meal benefits, complete an application for free and reduced price meals.

Foster children are eligible for free meal benefits. Some foster students will be qualified for free meals automatically through the state direct certification process. Their host family will receive notification of these benefits. Families that receive this notification from the school need to do nothing more for their foster students to receive free meals. If a family has foster students living with them and does not receive notification and wishes to apply for such meals, instructions for making application for such students are contained on the application form. A foster student may be included as a member of the foster family if the foster family chooses to also apply for benefits for other students. Including students in foster care as household members may help other students in the household qualify for benefits. If the foster family is not eligible for free or reduced price meal benefits, it does not prevent a foster student from receiving benefits. Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants may be eligible for free or reduced price meals based on a completed application. 

Do the members of your household lack a permanent address? Are you staying together in a shelter, hotel, or other temporary housing arrangement? Does your family relocate on a seasonal basis? Are any children living with you who have chosen to leave their prior family or household? If you believe children in your household meet these descriptions and haven’t been told your children will get free meals, please contact: Clear Creek Amana CSD, Calista Schwan, Homeless Liaison, 319-622-3255 calistaschwan@ccaschools.org

CCACSD Homeless Services

No, complete the applications for free and reduced price school meals for all the students in your household. We cannot approve an application unless complete eligibility information is submitted, so be sure to complete all required information.

Yes, you must submit a new application each year. Eligibility from the previous year will continue within the same school district for up to 30 operating days into the new school year. When the carryover period ends, unless the household is notified that their students are directly certified or the household submits an application that is approved, the students must pay full price for school meals.  Families are notified by mail that their meal benefits are set to expire. An application cannot be approved unless complete eligibility information is submitted. Applications may be submitted at any time during the year. If a family member becomes unemployed the family should contact the school to complete an application. Households notified of their student’s eligibility must contact the school if the household chooses to decline the free meal benefits. 

Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants may be eligible for free or reduced price meals based on a completed application.

Yes, you, your children or other household members do not have to be U.S. citizens to apply for free or reduced price meals.

Yes, we may also ask you to send written proof of the household income you report. You are not required to provide proof with your application.

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 or reduced price meals if the household income drops below the income limit, if your household size goes up, or if you start getting SNAP, FIP or other benefits.

If households are dissatisfied with the application approval done by the officials, they may make a formal appeal either orally or in writing to the school’s designated hearing official. The policy statement on file at the school contains an outline of the hearing procedure. School officials may verify the information in the application, and that deliberate misrepresentation of information may subject the applicant to prosecution under applicable state and federal criminal statutes. Households should contact their local school for additional information. 

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.

Household members may not receive the 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. However, if any income fields are left empty or blank, those will also be counted as zeroes. Please be careful when leaving income fields blank, as we will assume you meant to do so.

Your basic pay and cash bonuses must be reported as income. If you get any cash value allowances for off-base housing, food or clothing, or receive Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance payments, it must also be included as income. However, if your housing is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, do not include your housing allowance as income. Any additional combat pay resulting from deployment is also excluded from income.

Only the last four digits of the Social Security Number of the household’s primary wage earner or another adult household member (or an indication of “none”) is needed.

List any additional household members on a Supplemental Worksheet and attach it to your application. Contact Melissa Ortman, 1486 Hwy 6 NW, Oxford, IA  52322, 319-828-4510, melissaortman@ccaschools.org to receive a Supplemental Worksheet.

To find out how to apply for SNAP or other assistance benefits, contact your local assistance office or call 1-877-347-5678. Your children may be eligible for Hawki (children’s health insurance) or a waiver of school fees. Read the information on the back of the Application for Hawki information. A school waiver form is available from your school.

If a child has a disability, as determined by a licensed medical professional, and the disability prevents the child from eating the regular school meal, the school will make substitutions prescribed by the licensed medical professional. If a substitution is needed, there will be no extra charge for the meal. Please note, however, that the school is not required to make a substitution for a food allergy, unless it meets the definition of disability. Please call the school for further information.

It is optional to complete the racial/ethnic portion of the application, however, if you do not select race or ethnicity, one will be selected for you based on visual observation.