Apply Family Education Benefits- Free/Reduced price
DID YOU KNOW?
Liberty Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services offers a variety of healthy meal choices for breakfast and lunch to all students through the National School Lunch and Breakfast program. This federal program also allows us to offer free or reduced meal benefits to students that qualify through an application process.
- A new family application must be submitted at the beginning of each school year.
- Applications may be completed online or completed manually. Manually completed applications may be turned in at the school site or the Nutrition Services office. All applications are processed by the Nutrition Services office before a determination is confirmed.
- Parents are responsible for any meal charges accrued prior to the application being received.
- Past due as well as credit balances will be carried over from year to year.
Did you get a direct certification letter?
Based on monthly information from the Missouri Department of Social Services, some students are directly certified to receive free breakfast and lunch meals without submitting a Free and Reduced Meals application.If families receive a direct certification email, families do not have to fill out a free and reduced-price meal form for the school year. All other students who did not receive a Direct Certification letter must fill out a new form.
PAPER APPLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE AT ALL SCHOOL SITES and for download on the right of this page. Applications are available in multiple languages (49 options) at www.schoolcafe.com and at Translated Paper Meal Applications at USDA
Questions about the process. Call 816-736-5375, and you will receive your answers quickly.
Only complete one application per family. The information you give will be used to determine or prove your child's eligibility for free or reduced-priced meals. This information may also be used for other state or federally funded school benefits.
Factors considered in the application process are household size and total household income. HOUSEHOLD SIZE is considered all persons, related or unrelated: Including parents, children, grandparents who live in your home and share living expenses. The TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME is the income each household member received last month before taxes - this includes wages, social security, pension, unemployment, welfare, child support, alimony, and any other cash income.
Foster children are categorically eligible for free meal benefits. An application is not needed if documentation is provided by the state or local agency. It is the guardian's responsibility to provide this documentation. Foster children may be included in the household application as part of the household size.
Please return completed forms to 801 Kent Street, Liberty, MO 64068 or to your student's school cafeteria.
Q & A
If your housing is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, do not include your housing allowance as income. Exclude military combat pay received by service members during a deployment. All other allowances must be included in your gross income
List the amount that you normally get. For example, if you normally get $1,000 each month, but you missed some work last month and only got $900, put down that you get $1,000 per month. If you normally get overtime, include it, but not if you get it only sometimes.
You must include all people living in your household, related or not (such as grandparents, other relatives, or friends). You must include yourself and all children who live with you.
You should talk to school officials. You also may ask for a hearing by calling or writing to: Misty Newland, RDN, Nutrition Services Director, 816-736-5375, 801 Kent St., Liberty, MO 64068.
Yes. You may apply at any time during the school year if your household size goes up, income goes down, or if you start receiving Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance or other benefits. If you lose your job, your child(ren) may be able to get free or reduced price meals.