West Orange-Cove CISD announced its policy today that this school year, healthy meals will be offered every school day to all students at no cost. Typically, a student’s household must meet income eligibility requirements to qualify for free or reduced-price meals. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued guidance that allows schools to offer meals to all students at no cost for the 2021-2022 school year. Each school/site or the central office has a copy of the policy, which may be reviewed upon request.
While no application or eligibility determination process is required for your student to receive free meals this school year, the income eligibility requirement will likely resume in the 2022-2023 school year. The school district still encourages parents to fill out the socioeconomic form, as this information is used by the district to apply for various educational grants. Regardless of the campus that your student(s) attends, there only needs to be ONE application per household, so be sure to put all students in the household on the application.
