Student Meal Applications-SNPLearning Support : 
Student Meal Applications-SNP
Student Meal Application and Eligibility Information
Schools that participate in School Nutrition Programs accept applications for free and reduced-price school meal benefits at any time. The form used to apply is titled the Application for Educational Benefits. Approval for free or reduced-price meals is based on comparison of the household’s income to current U.S. Department of Agriculture household income guidelines. Schools distribute the Application for Educational Benefits form to the households of all enrolled children at the beginning of each school year.
Families use the Application for Educational Benefits form to apply for free or reduced-price school meals. The Household Letter explains about school meal benefits and how to complete the Application for Educational Benefits. These forms are available in English and eight additional languages as noted below. Some of these translations are available in Word format – contact the Food and Nutrition Service to request them.
Application for Education Benefits and Household Letter - Select the desired language: English, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer-Cambodian, Laotian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese
Notification of Approval/Denial Letter - Select the desired language: English, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer-Cambodian, Laotian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese
Additional Languages - The USDA Website has a prototype application and household letter, approval/denial letters, and verification letters available in additional languages: Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Polish, Portuguese, Samoan, Serbo-Croatian, Sudanese, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu. Visit Related Links.
Households that have already been approved for the following public assistance programs can complete an Application for Educational Benefits with case number(s) instead of household income information:
- Food Stamps,
- Minnesota Family Investment Plan (MFIP),
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).
Children who have already been approved for these programs may also be “directly certified” for free school meals, without an Application for Educational Benefits, based on data supplied to the Minnesota Department of Education from the Minnesota Department of Human Services as authorized by federal and state law for this purpose. Information on individual students' approval for free and reduced-price meals is private data that is used only for school programs as authorized by law. For more information, see Direct Certification under the section links on this page.
To view or download the USDA publication explaining how to determine and verify students' eligibility for free and reduced price meals (updated January 2008), View the Eligibility Manual for School Meals.
*Links to third-party sites are provided as a courtesy to our site visitors. By selecting this link, you will be leaving the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Website. See our copyright notice at the bottom of the page for our full disclaimer regarding these links.
To view or download Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) materials, click on the following PDF or Word icons below:
2009-10 Income Eligibility Guidelines and Application
94Kb (6/19/2009)
281Kb (6/19/2009)
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| Household letter, Application for Educational Benefits, Approval/Denial of Benefits letter, and procedures for School Nutrition Programs meal benefits. | |
Adult Meal Prices and Student Reduced-Price Meal Amounts
14Kb (10/26/2009)
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| Minimum meal prices for adults and maximum school meal prices to students approved for reduced-price meals - July 2009 memo. | |
Applications for Educational Benefits and Income Tax Returns
205Kb (10/2/2009)
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| Q and A describing situations when information from income tax forms can and cannot be used to determine eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. | |
Case Numbers Reported on an Application for Educational Benefits
30Kb (10/6/2009)
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| Guidelines to identify eligible Food Stamp, Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) and Food Distribution Program Indian on Reservations (FDPIR) case numbers used to apply for School Nutrition Programs meal benefits. | |
Electronic Transactions and Scanned Applications - Memos
219Kb (6/14/2007)
157Kb (6/14/2007)
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| Requirements for electronic transactions that replace paper transactions in Child Nutrition Programs and for meal applications that are electronically scanned - memos from 2002 to 2007. | |
Eligibility of Haitian Refugees for the Child Nutrition Programs (USDA memo)
20Kb (2/4/2010)
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| Determining eligibility of children who were evacuated to the United States as a result of the earthquake in Haiti. Refugee children are eligible for meal benefits if they enroll in a participating school or institution. | |
Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household
20Kb (8/31/2009)
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| U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) memo modifying categorical eligibility policy for households receiving assistance under Food Assistance (Stamps), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) or the Minnesota Family Investment Program | |
Head Start Automatic Eligibility
29Kb (6/19/2008)
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| All children enrolled in Head Start are eligible for free meals in Child Nutrition Programs - May 2008 memo. | |
Homeless, Runaway, and Migrant Students - Memos
167Kb (5/5/2008)
140Kb (5/5/2008)
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| Homeless, runaway, and migrant students can be certified for free school meals through School Nutrition Programs - 6 memos from June 2002 to May 2008. | |
Military Families - Memos
20Kb (2/4/2010)
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| Special rules on how military families should report household size and income when applying for Child Nutrition Programs meal benefits - four memos from July 2004 to January 2010 | |
Minnesota Health Care Programs Notification
112Kb (7/21/2009)
744Kb (7/21/2009)
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| State law requires school districts to notify families about free or low-cost health insurance that is available through Minnesota Health Care Programs or MinnesotaCare - July 2008 memo. | |
Minnesota Health Care Programs Notification - county agency list
63Kb (7/23/2008)
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| County agency list to obtain information on free or low-cost health insurance that is available through Minnesota Health Care Programs or MinnesotaCare - July 2008 memo. | |
Minnesota Health Care Programs Notification (school flyer - English)
449Kb (6/1/2009)
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| School districts can use this flyer to notify families about free or low-cost health insurance that is available through Minnesota Health Care Programs or MinnesotaCare. | |
Minnesota Health Care Programs Notification (school flyer - Spanish)
753Kb (6/1/2009)
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| School districts can use this flyer to notify families about free or low-cost health insurance that is available through Minnesota Health Care Programs or MinnesotaCare. | |
Online Application Systems
29Kb (5/22/2009)
54Kb (5/22/2009)
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| School Nutrition Programs requirements for schools that have online systems for families to complete electronic Applications for Educational Benefits - May 2009 memo. | |
Provision 2 & 3 Cost Allowability of App's for Educational Benefits
115Kb (8/5/2005)
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| The costs of processing Applications for Educational Benefits may not be charged to the school food service at some schools that participate in School Nutrition Programs – June 2002 memo. | |
Resident Income Policy (Statement of Facts)
13Kb (4/21/2009)
34Kb (4/21/2009)
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| Form for documenting School Nutrition Programs meal benefits for children at a residential child care institution (RCCI). | |
Student Meal Applications and Roster Maintenance
57Kb (10/25/2005)
120Kb (10/25/2005)
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| Guidance on maintaining records of students approved for School Nutrition Programs meal benefits. | |
Tax Rebate Checks
25Kb (6/2/2008)
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| Exclusion of income received in federal rebate checks issued under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 - March 2008 memo. | |
Ways to Assist Families During Economic Downturn
22Kb (3/13/2009)
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| Approval of School Nutrition Programs meal benefits for students from families that become eligible during the school year - February 2009 memo. | |
MDE E-mail Updates
