Schools: How to Apply for Free or Reduced-Price Meals

With the new school year just weeks away, Poway Unified district officials are reminding families to apply for free and reduced breakfast and lunch fees for their children.

Regular meal prices were recently increased to account for higher costs. 

Students whose families participate in certain programs are automatically eligible for free or reduced meals. The programs:

• CalFresh (food stamp households)
• CalWORKs (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids)
• Kin-GAP (Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment program)
• FDPIR (Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations)

All schools offer milk for 50 cents. Juice is 50 cents for elementary students and 75 cents for middle and high school students.

*Elementary school breakfast is only available at: Los Peñasquitos, Midland, Pomerado, Rolling Hills and Valley.

**Middle and high school breakfast is only available at: Meadowbrook Middle, Poway High, Mt. Carmel High and Westview High.

How to apply:

• Review the income eligibility scale (attached in the photo gallery) to see if your family may qualify. For example, a five-person household earning up to about $34,000 a year could be eligible for free meals. The same size family earning up to $48,415 may be eligible for reduced price meals. Eligibility information is also available on the district website here.
• Fill out the Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals and turn it in to the school. The application is attached to this story and can also be found on the district website here.
• Applications can be filed at any time throughout the school year.