Program Description
The United States Department of Agriculture provides funding to support five school meal and milk programs to assist schools, districts, and other non-profit agencies in providing nutritious meals and milk to children at reasonable prices or free to qualified applicants. The five programs are: the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Seamless Summer Feeding Option, Special Milk Program, and State Meal Program.
General Program Requirements
In order to qualify for these programs, you must be a resident of the state of California and a parent or primary caregiver responsible for a child(ren) who attends school (high school or under). To see if you meet the income eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price meals, please visit the California Department of Education website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/rs/ and see the current eligibility scales.
Your Next Steps
The following information will lead you to the next steps to apply for this benefit.
Application Process
To apply for free or reduced price meals, contact your child's school. A listing of your state's schools can be found here:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/sd/
Program Contact Information
