Miami-Dade schools join USDA program offering free, reduced-price meals
Key Points(5)
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools has announced its participation in the U.S.
- Department of Agriculture’s Child Care Food Program, providing eligible children with access to nutritious meals and snacks.
- The federally funded program reimburses child care providers for serving meals and snacks that meet nutritional requirements to enrolled children.
- Under the program, meals will be available at no separate charge to participants enrolled at Arch Creek Elementary, located at 702 NE 137th St.
- Parents or guardians of children seeking free or reduced-price meal benefits are required to complete an application providing household and income information.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools has announced its participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child Care Food Program, providing eligible children with access to nutritious meals and snacks.
The federally funded program reimburses child care providers for serving meals and snacks that meet nutritional requirements to enrolled children.
Under the program, meals will be available at no separate charge to participants enrolled at Arch Creek Elementary, located at 702 NE 137th St. in North Miami.
Parents or guardians of children seeking free or reduced-price meal benefits are required to complete an application providing household and income information.
The application must include the names of all household members and the income of each household member or the household’s Food Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, case number or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families case number.
Applications must also include the signature of an adult household member. If income information is provided, applicants must include the last four digits of the Social Security number of the adult signing the application or indicate that the adult does not have a Social Security number.
Children from households receiving Food Assistance Program or TANF benefits, those enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start and foster children are automatically eligible for free meal benefits with appropriate documentation.
Other children may qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on household income and family size.
For the program year, a child from a household of four, for example, may qualify for free meals if the household’s annual income is $41,795 or less. The income threshold for reduced-price meals for a four-person household is $59,478 annually.
For a family of eight, the annual income limits are $70,395 for free meals and $100,178 for reduced-price meals. For households with more than eight members, the annual income threshold increases by $7,150 per additional person for free meals and $10,175 for reduced-price meals.
M-DCPS said its policy statement governing free and reduced-price meals is on file at participating child care centers and is available for review by interested parties.
Meals are available at no separate charge to eligible participants regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.
