Income Eligibility & Verification

School Meal Programs Eligibility

Income Eligibility Guidelines

The current year School Meal Program Income Eligibility guidelines are for use after July 1 of each school year. The income guidelines are used when determining student’s eligibility.

• Income Eligibility Guidelines

The current School Meal Programs Eligibility documents are for use after July 1 for the coming school year. Application materials are to be distributed at or near the beginning of the school year. The documents can be accessed and downloaded from IowaCNP under Download Forms.

USDA Applications and Other Household Materials for Limited English Proficient Households

This link will take you to the USDA Applications and other household materials for Limited English Proficient Households. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has issued prototype materials in English and translated them into 49 languages which are available at the following link. These materials will assist Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) redesign household materials if there is a need.

USDA Eligibility Manual for School Meals

This manual is intended to help State and local education agencies (LEAs) accurately determine, certify, and verify children’s eligibility for free and reduced price meals and milk.

• Eligibility Manual for School Meals - Determining and Verifying Eligibility
• Using Individual Free or Reduced Status Information Outside of the Meal Program - Q & As

Verification Information

USDA requires School Food Authorities (SFAs) participating in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) or National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to verify 3% of the households that have applied for free or reduced price meal benefits.

All SFAs that operate the NSLP/SBP must complete the Verification Collection Report (VCR) in the IowaCNP system. RCCIs that are exempt from the verification process and SFAs that did not have any free or reduced price applications on file October 1 to verify must complete the Verification Collection Report (VCR) indicating “No Verification was Performed.”

Hawk-i Information

Hawk-i is the State's medical insurance program for children. Public LEAs are required to report to hawk-i households who request the information. Nonpublic LEAs and Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCIs) are encouraged to report but are not required to report. The documents can be accessed and downloaded from IowaCNP under Download Forms.