Dear Parent/Guardian:
Children need healthy meals to learn. East Buchanan Community School offers healthy meals every school day. Breakfast costs $1.75; lunch costs $2.40 (PK-6th) & $2.50 (7th – 12th). Your children may qualify for free meals/milk or for reduced price meals. Reduced price is .30¢ for breakfast and .40¢ for lunch. Return or mail the completed application to: East Buchanan School, 414 5th St. N., Winthrop, IA 50682.
Below are some common questions and answers to help you with the application process.
- All children in households receiving benefits from Food Assistance, the Family Investment Program (FIP) or a few specific Medicaid programs are eligible for free or reduced price meals.
- Foster children that are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court are eligible for free meals.
- Children participating in their school’s Head Start program are eligible for free meals.
- Children who meet the definition of homeless, runaway, or migrant are eligible for free meals.
- Children may receive free or reduced price meals if your household’s income is at or below the limits on the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines below. (Requires submitting an Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals/Milk.)
FEDERAL INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES for School Year 2020-2021
Household Size
- 1 | Yearly 23,606 | Monthly 1,968 | Twice per Month 984 | Every Two Weeks 908 | Weekly 454
- 2 | Yearly 31,894 | Monthly 2,658 | Twice per Month 1,329 | Every Two Weeks 1,227 | Weekly 614
- 3 | Yearly 40,182 | Monthly 3,349 | Twice per Month 1,675 | Every Two Weeks 1,546 | Weekly 773
- 4 | Yearly 48,470 | Monthly 4,040 | Twice per Month 2,020 | Every Two Weeks 1,865 | Weekly 933
- 5 | Yearly 56,758 | Monthly 4,730 | Twice per Month 2,365 | Every Two Weeks 2,183 | Weekly 1,092
- 6 | Yearly 65,046 | Monthly 5,421 | Twice per Month 2,711 | Every Two Weeks 2,502 | Weekly 1,251
- 7 | Yearly 73,334 | Monthly 6,112 | Twice per Month 3,056 | Every Two Weeks 2,821 | Weekly 1,411
- 8 | Yearly 81,622 | Monthly 6,802 | Twice per Month 3,401 | Every Two Weeks 3,140 | Weekly 1,570
- Each additional person | Yearly 8,288 | Monthly 691 | Twice per Month 346 | Every Two Weeks 319 | Weekly 160
No, but please read the letter carefully and follow the instructions. If any children in your household were missing from your notification, contact: Kelly Griswold, 414 5th St. N., Winthrop, IA 50682, 319-935-3767 or kgriswold@east-buc.k12.ia.us 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 DHS, 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 food assistance 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 automatically, 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.
Households with foster and non-foster children may choose to include the foster child as a household member, as this may help other children in the household qualify for benefits. If the foster family is not eligible for free or reduced price meal benefits, that does not prevent a foster child from receiving free meal benefits.
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: East Buchanan School, Daniel J. Fox, 319-935-3767 or dfox@east-buc.k12.ia.us.
No. Use one Free and Reduced Price School Meals Application for all students in your household. We cannot approve an application unless complete eligibility information is submitted, so be sure to complete all required information.
Yes.
Your child’s application is only good for that school year and for the first few days of this school year, through October 5, 2020. You must send in a new application unless the school told you that your child is eligible for the new school year. When the carry-over period ends, unless you are notified that your children will receive free meals or you submit an application that is approved, the children must pay full price for school meals. The school is not required to send a reminder or a notice of expired eligibility.
Children in households participating in WIC may be eligible for free or reduced price meals. Please send in an 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 Food Assistance, FIP or other benefits.
You should talk to school officials. You also may ask for a hearing by calling or writing to: Daniel J. Fox, 414 5th St. N., Winthrop, IA 50682, 319-935-3767 or email dfox@east-buc.k12.ia.us
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 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 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. There are currently no active Military Housing Projects in Iowa as found on Active Military Housing Projects. 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 Kelly Griswold, 414 5th St. N., Winthrop, IA 50682,
319- 935-3767 or email kgriswold@east-buc.k12.ia.us to receive a Supplemental Worksheet.
If your school participates in the Special Milk Program for half day kindergarteners, your kindergarten child may be eligible for free milk. Children who buy extra milk with a meal or if they eat breakfast or lunch and have an afternoon milk break, they are not eligible to receive free milk.
To find out how to apply for Food Assistance or other assistance benefits, contact your local assistance office or call 1-877-347-5678. Your children may be eligible for hawk-i (children’s health insurance) or a waiver of school fees. Read the information on the back of the Application for hawk-i 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.
If you have other questions or need help, call 319-935-3767 or email mschweitzer@east-buc.k12.ia.us
Sincerely,
Mellisa Schweitzer