Free and Reduced Meal Applications

Overview

Parents or guardians that wish to apply for free or reduced price meal benefits must contact the school where your child attends to obtain the appropriate Federal Child Nutrition Program applications.

Application Materials

SFAs are required to distribute Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application packets to all households in the district on or around the beginning of the school year, but not before July 1.

The following documents must be included in the packet:

For instructions on how to fill out an application, please view the Filling out the Household Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals webcast.

If application materials are needed in languages other than those noted above (i.e. Limited English Proficiency (LEP)), please visit the USDA FNS Translated Applications webpage or contact the DPI School Nutrition Team at 608-267-9228. The USDA 'I Speak' Statements can help SFAs identify specific language needs.

The Iowa Free and Reduced Price Meal Calculation Tool is an optional tool created to assist school staff with determining income applications. This tool is updated annual by July 1 to meet the income guidelines requirements.

Online Applications

If an SFA uses an online application, the software vendor distributing these applications to households must be DPI approved. The approved vendor listing is updated annually.

As a reminder, online Free and Reduced Meal applications must be reviewed and approved by the DPI School Nutrition Team each school year and may not be utilized by SFAs until approval is complete. Applications cannot be posted or distributed prior to July 1.

Additionally, SFAs often have the ability to change or customize certain aspects of the application. It is the responsibility of the SFA to ensure that their application and notification letters are set up correctly to comply with the requirements outlined in the Eligibility Manual For School Meals.

Approved Vendor List for School Year 2024-2025

Vendor	Date Approved
CyberSoft Technologies-Primero Edge	6/20/2024
Edutrak, Inc (Formerly Wordware)	7/1/2024
Harris School Solutions	7/29/2024
Infinite Campus	6/26/2024
jmc	7/24/2024
LINQ	7/11/2024
Meal Magic Family Portal	7/19/2024
MySchoolApps	7/10/2024
Nutri-Link Technologies, Inc.-Nutri-Cloud (Application Only)	6/26/2024
Skyward - Qmlativ	7/12/2024
Skyward - SMS	7/12/2024
StrataApps (Application Only)	7/09/2024

Income Eligibility Guidelines

The Income Eligibility Guidelines for School Year 2024-2025 are for school staff only and are used in the processing of Free and Reduced Price Meal Applications. SFAs utilizing a software system for approval of applications should confirm the system uses the current guidelines.

Independent Review of Applications

Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that demonstrate high levels of or are at a high risk for administrative error associated with certification and benefit issuance, are required to conduct a second review of all applications received by October 31. SFAs are notified if they are required to conduct a second review.

Questions and Answers Related to the Independent Review of Applications SP 44-2014, 4/30/14
Independent Review of Applications Final Rule Federal Register, 2/6/14
Independent Review of Applications Report
- Only SFAs notified by the State Agency need to complete this report.

Resources

Free and Reduced Price Meal Eligibility E-Learning
The Iowa Free and Reduced Price Meal Calculation Tool is an optional tool created to assist school staff with determining income applications. This tool is updated annual by July 1 to meet the income guidelines requirements.
Overview of a Completed Application In a Nutshell

Example Forms and Applications:

Example Forms of Completed Applications

Tax Forms:

Basic Tax Forms
- 1040
- Schedule 1
- Schedule C
- Schedule F
Wage and Tax Statement

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