meal benefits 2014-15. overview: meal benefit categories apply for free or reduced price school...

Meal Benefits 2014-15


Overview:• Meal benefit categories• Apply for Free or Reduced Price

school meals• Review application from a household• Help families• Race to the Cut Off• Community Eligibility Provision

Meal Benefits 2014-15Meal benefit categories• Application, on-line or paper– Free or Reduced Price Meal– Paid, income above income guidelines for

household size

• Categorical eligibility – Directly Certified: SNAP*, TANF*, FDPIR*,

Foster, Title X, Migrant, Head Start• Free Meals• Extended benefits for SNAP, TANF & FDPIR• Cannot extend benefits for Foster, Title X, Migrant, Head

Start

Meal Benefits 2014-15Categorical Eligibility• SNAP & TANF

– Weekly updates from ODE

• FDPIR– Notification from household

• Foster– Notification from household

• Title X– Daily updates from district liaisons, Funded Programs

• Migrant– Annual notification from MEP

• Head Start– Annual import from Synergy

Meal Benefits 2014-15Apply for free or reduced price school meals• Submit an online application– Confidential– Faster

• Submit a paper application– Print from the NS website– Pick up application from PPS school

offices or cafeteria

Meal Benefits 2014-15Online application

Meal Benefits 2014-15Paper Application

Meal Benefits 2014-15Review application• All students are listed in the Student

Information section of the application• Foster student indication is marked, if

applicable, no need for separate application

• Number living in household matches the number of names on the application

• SNAP or TANF case number is valid• Application is signed-this is critical

Meal Benefits 2014-15Help families• Print customer list weekly from WebSMARTT• Use one list to track received applications• Send applications to NS BESC office

promptly• Work with school office to determine

unmatched siblings• Call families to remind them of application

carryover expiration date• Attend back to school nights

Meal Benefits 2014-15Race to the Cut off• Win the Race to the Cut Off and Lunch with the Director in

your school category by being the first to have all “prior year” eligible students updated for current year 2014-15 benefits.

• K-5/K-8/6-8 < 25% F&R HS < 50% F&R

• K-5/K-8/6-8 25% - 60% F&R HS > 50% F&R

• K-5/K-8/6-8 > 60% F&R• Note: being the first to have all “prior year” eligible students be updated

for current year 2014-15 benefits means that you have contacted all families AND they have responded. If a family does not want to reapply and tells you that they are not eligible in the current year then document the date of contact and “not eligible” next to the student name(s).

Meal Benefits 2014-15Race to the Cut off

From left, Kirby Phillips, Rigler K-8; Trena Beatty, Franklin HS; Gitta Grether-Sweeney and Kerry Rose, Woodstock K-5

Meal Benefits 2014-15Race to the Cut off

(from left) Brenda Davidson, Sitton K-8; Linda Mannthey, Madison HS; Marsha Hart, Bridger K-8; Leslie Phillips, Woodmere K-5, Barbara Woods, Whitman K-5 and Gitta Grether-Sweeney.

Meal Benefits 2014-15Race to the Cut off tips• Print a customer list weekly• Mark applications at the top if there are

new or paid students on the application• Contact families• Follow up on applications that have

been sent to the NS central office but have not been processed after 5 days with new students on them

Meal Benefits 2014-15Community Eligibility Provision-new this yearPortland Public Schools will implement the Community Eligibility Provision, CEP, program at 25 eligible schools. These CEP schools will provide school breakfasts and lunches to ALL students at NO CHARGE while they are enrolled in a CEP school during the 2014-15 school year.

Families do NOT need to submit a free or reduced-price meal application for students who are enrolled in a CEP school during the 2014-15 school year.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 authorized CEP to provide an alternative to household applications in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. The intent of CEP is to improve students’ access to free school meals in eligible schools and to eliminate the burden for families who are required to complete complicated income applications on an annual basis. CEP was piloted for a three year period in a limited number of States and is now available nationwide beginning July 1, 2014.

Meal Benefits 2014-15CEP Sites 2014-15

Madison HSMarysvillePioneer ProgramRiglerRoosevelt HSRosa ParksScottSittonVestalWhitmanWoodlawnWoodmere

Alliance @ MeekBoise Eliot/HumboldtCesar ChavezFaubionGeorge MSHarrison ParkJames JohnJefferson HSKellyKingLane MSLeeLent


FAQs• How do I enter a meal for a student

on paid status or not yet in WebSMARTT but I have reviewed an application from the household and the students will qualify for free meals?–Write the student’s name and ID on the

cafeteria activity log, use the A key to serve the meal

Meal Benefits 2014-15FAQs• If a student transfers from a CEP site, do

they still get free meals?– Students transferring from CEP sites will be given

free status for 10 days. If an application has already been received by Nutrition Services it will be processed and the family will be notified. There will be a note on the student’s record noting the CEP application number. If no application has been received, the meal benefits department will send the family information on how to apply for free or reduced price school meals.

Meal Benefits 2014-15FAQs• How much time should I spend getting

information to complete an application?– Application must be sent to the NS office to be

processed promptly. If there is missing information on an application when it is received, other than a signature, call the family to try to get the information but do not hold onto the application.

– Return the application to the household if it is missing a signature, and the student is not directly certified, with a note to sign and return for processing.


FAQs• How do students become directly

certified (DC) based on SNAP?– A list is sent to Oregon Department of

Education (ODE) weekly to be matched with the Department of Human Services (DHS) database of current SNAP clients. In addition, a second match is done when the records are imported into WebSMARTT that looks at guardian and address.

Meal Benefits 2014-15FAQs• Can I give a customer list from WebSMARTT

to the principal, the secretary or a teacher?– Student meal benefit status is confidential

information, by law, and can only be provided to designated person for approved uses after a signed confidentiality agreement has been received. In order to protect this confidential information all requests for lists must be sent to the Nutrition Services offices. All requests can be sent to Meal Benefits at [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


FAQs• How long does it take to process an

application?– By law, the district has 10 business days

to process an application. Our goal is 3 days. However, we cannot process incomplete applications.


FAQs• What should I tell a new students or

students who were not eligible the prior year?– These students are asked to prepay for

meals or bring a lunch from home until an application for the current school year has been completed and approved.


FAQs• Who is included on the meal benefit

application?– All household members should be

included on the application. A household is defined as a group of related or non-related individuals who are living as one economic unit. There can be more than one household living at the same address.

Meal Benefits 2014-15FAQs• Can a student that qualifies for free

meals just get a milk?– Student’s that qualify for free school meals

can prepay money to their account or bring money to the cafeteria to pay for milk. We would encourage a student on free or reduced price meals status to get a reimbursable meal including milk that would supplement the meal that they have brought from home.


FAQs• How do I send applications to the NS

central office for processing?– The best way to send applications to the

NS central office is to use the provided “Brownies” given to the NS drivers.


FAQs• How do I contact the meal benefits

office about a sibling of a DC student?– Email the office at [email protected]. – In the email be sure to include all

information• DC student name and ID• Non-DC student name and ID• How you know that they are siblings



FAQs• How do I contact the meal benefits

office about an application that was sent in but has not been process?– Email the office at

[email protected]– In the email be sure to include all

information• Name and ID of the student(s)• Date the application was sent in


Meal Benefits 2014-15Important information• Applications are being sent to the

school offices• A meal benefits packet will be sent on

the NS trucks– Application review checklist, Income

guidelines, Cutoff reminder signs, Memo for secretaries, labels

• Meal benefit application transports (the brownies) will be sent on the NS trucks

Meal Benefits 2014-15Reminder-• New students are not eligible for free or

reduced price meals until you have seen and reviewed an application or an application has been processed– Use the A key and record the student name and

ID on the cafeteria activity log for all reviewed free meal benefit applications

– Use the B key, collect $.40 and record the student name and ID on the cafeteria activity log for all reviewed reduced price meal benefit applications


Have a great year & thank you

for everything that you do to help families and

students!

meal benefits 2014-15. overview: meal benefit categories apply for free or reduced price school...

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