Meals will not be free for all students unless you are a CEP or Provision school.
Pricing
Meal Pattern
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 has enabled public schools across the nation to provide all students free meals since the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted K-12 education in March of 2020. The free school meal benefits will expire after the last school day of the 2021-2022 school year.
What does this mean for families?
In the fall of 2022, meals will return to paid-for status. Families will need to pay full price for student meals or fill out an application to qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
Carry-Over:
At this time, we do not know if there will be any carry-over of the free eligibility to give families time to submit applications, or even free and reduced eligibility from 2021/2022 or previous years.
Free & Reduced-Price Information for SY 2022-2023 : Income Application, Letter to Households, Income Guidelines, Notification Letters, Release of Information Form and Application Instructions can be found on our website at:
Free and reduced-price meal applications for the 2022-2023 school year cannot be completed or approved until after July 1, 2022.
On-line Application
Some districts have had a good response to on-line applications. Parents find it easy to fill out and submit. The Primero Edge on-line application link is printed at the top of the Income Application. Please delete the link if you are not interested in receiving applications on-line. Also, you must contact Scott Egge in our office if you would like to take advantage of the system so he can add your district to the drop down: Apply online: https://apply4schoolmeals.dpi.nd.gov
USDA recently released guidance that expands the use of the non-congregate and parent pick-up waiver for NSLP and SBP past June 30, 2022. However, USDA stresses the use of these waivers only in the event that meals cannot be served in a congregate setting. States are encouraged to apply if there is a need for meals to be served in a non-congregate setting due to increases in COVID numbers or if there is an increase in safety concerns for congregate feeding due to COVID 19. At this time, ND will not be applying for these waivers due to the low numbers of COVID cases in ND. If COVID numbers increase and there becomes a safety concern or health risk involved in congregate feeding, we will re-evaluate applying for these waivers.
The Summer Food Service Program will be up and running at many schools and non-profit sites this summer across North Dakota. SFA’s are encouraged to help families find summer meal sites in their area by including these meal site finder options in the last newsletter to parents before summer break.
The Meals for Kids Site Finder was developed by USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) to help children, parents, and others quickly and easily find summer meal sites near them. The site finder, available for use at no charge, is a web-based application that also works on tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices without the need to download. Go to www.fns.usda.gov/meals4kids to find meal sites in your area or text 914-342-7744.
No Kid Hungry has also developed a resource for children, parents and others to find summer meal sites near them. Go to www.nokidhungry.org/find-free-meals and enter in your address to find free, healthy meals being served by organizations in your community. Families can also find meal sites near them by texting the work FOOD to 877-877. Data and message rates may apply.
Summer Food Service Program Sign Up
Eligible SFA’s can now sign up to participate in the Summer Food Service Program this summer and provide meals to kids when school is out. If the SFA participated last summer, a renewal link is available in the work queue in NDFoods. If the SFA is eligible but did not participate in the program last summer, please contact our office for assistance. Deadline to apply or renew for SFSP is at least two weeks prior to the start of program operations.
The Goal of the FFVP is to create healthier school environments by:
This program is seen as an important catalyst for change in efforts to combat childhood obesity by helping children learn more healthful eating habits. The FFVP introduces school children to a variety of produce they otherwise might not have had the opportunity to sample.
Selected schools receive reimbursement for the cost of making free fresh fruits and vegetables available to students during the school day. These fresh fruits and vegetables must be provided at least twice a week separately from the lunch or breakfast meal during the official school day.
To fill out an application, you may download it HERE.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Scott Egge at segge@nd.gov.