• All children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) are eligible for free 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 meals if their household's income is within the limits of the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines. Your children may qualify for free or reduced meals if your household income falls at or below the limits on the chart.

No. Complete one Free and Reduced Meal Application for all students in your household and return to your youngest child’s school or complete an online application.

No, but please read the letter you received carefully and follow the instructions. If any children in your household were missing from your eligibility notification, contact Nutrition Services at (531) 299-0230 immediately.

You must include yourself and all people living in your household, related or not (such as children, grandparents, other relatives or friends). List any additional household members on a separate piece of paper, and attach it to your application. Contact Nutrition Services, 3215 Cuming St. Omaha, NE 68131-2024, (531) 299-0230, to receive a second application.

Do the members of your household lack a permanent address? Are you staying together in a shelter, hotel or another 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 call Nutrition Services at (531) 299-0230.

Yes, we may ask you to send written proof of the information you report.

Yes. You, your children or other household members do not have to be U.S. citizens to qualify for Free and Reduced Meals.

Upon making an application for Free and Reduced Meals, the determining official will notify you by a letter sent to your child’s school of the approval or denial. If you do not agree with the decision, you may discuss it with the determining official. If you wish to review the decision further, you have the right to a fair hearing. This can be done by writing to the Nutrition Services Director, 3215 Cuming St, Omaha, Nebraska 68131-2024, or calling (531) 299-0230.

You may apply for meal benefits any time during the school year if your household size goes up, income goes down or if you start receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) or FDPIR (Food Distribution on Indian Reservations). 

If you lose your job, your children may be able to qualify for free or reduced meals.

To find out how to apply for SNAP or other economic assistance benefits, please visit ACCESSNebraska.ne.gov or call 1-800-383-4278. 

Household members may not receive some types of income that we ask you to report on the application, or may not receive income at all. Whenever this happens, please record a zero 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.

Yes, your child’s application is good only for that school year and for the first few days of this school year. You must send in a new application unless you were notified that your child is eligible for the new school year. If you do not send in a new application that is approved by the school or you have not been notified that your child is eligible for free meals, your child will be charged the full price for meals. 

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.

List the amount that you normally receive. For example, if you normally earn $1000 each month, but you missed some work last month and only made $900, put down that you make $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.

Children in households participating in WIC may be eligible for free or reduced meals. Please send in an application.

To find out how to apply for SNAP or other assistance benefits, please visit ACCESSNebraska.ne.gov or call 1-800-383-4278.