Due to the changes at the federal level, school meals programs will look different than they have for the past two years.  There are several important changes as follows:

When schools began closing in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—which oversees national child nutrition programs—issued program flexibilities to make it easier to serve and access meals during the emergency.  As of March 2022 Congress has declined to provide USDA the authorization to extend these flexibilities.  Those waivers expired on June 30, 2022, meaning that our programs will return to traditional operations. 

The main change is that school lunch and breakfast will no longer automatically be served at no cost to all students. 

Families need to be prepared to complete a Free and Reduced Price Meal Application to make sure their child can continue to receive meal benefits, if qualified.  Meal benefits begin on the day the meal application is approved.  Meal benefits are not retroactive. 

Direct Certification

If the Parent/Guardian receives written notification, from the SCPS Food Service Office, of Direct Certification eligibility for the 2022-2023 school year, they do not need to complete a meal application.  A separate letter is mailed for all students in the household.  If you do not receive a letter for all of the students in your household, please contact Linda McGee or Christine Salyers at the Food Service Office at (540) 582-5894. 

Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

Based on the percentage of directly certified students, as of April 1, 2022, 19 selected schools have been approved by VDOE to implement the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) the 2022-2023 SY.  Students enrolled in an approved school are eligible to receive one reimbursable breakfast and/or one reimbursable lunch, free of charge, per school day. 

The approved schools are: Battlefield Elementary, Battlefield Middle, Berkeley, Cedar Forest, Chancellor High, Chancellor Middle, Harrison Road, John J. Wright Educational and Cultural Center, Lee Hill, Livingston, Massaponax, Post Oak, Riverview, Salem, Smith Station, Spotswood, Spotsylvania High, Thornburg and Wilderness

The Parents/Guardians of students enrolled in a CEP school should not complete a meal application for those students. However, the Parent/Guardian must complete a meal application for any other student(s) in the household that are not enrolled in a CEP school. 

CEP School Transfers

Students that transfer from a CEP school to a non-CEP school will be eligible for free meals for the first 10 serving days only.  During the first 10 serving days, the Parent/Guardian must complete a meal application, unless your child has been directly certified to receive meal benefits.  

Students that transfer from a non-CEP school to a CEP school will be eligible for free meal benefits immediately.

Eligibility Carryover

Eligibility from last school year will expire on September 22, 2022.  Therefore, students that are not enrolled in a CEP school, must have an approved meal application on file in order to receive meal benefits as of September 23, 2022. 

Applying for Meal Benefits

Meal applications are available online at www.MySchoolApps.com and on page 75 in the “FORMS” section of the Student Handbook.  Approving officials have 10 working from the day the meal application is received in the Food Service Office to process meal applications.  Eligibility Notification Letters will be sent to Parent/Guardian via U.S. Mail.  If you should have questions regarding meal application status, please contact the Food Service Office.

Incomplete Meal Applications

Meal applications that are incomplete and/or do not include all the information required for processing, will be mailed back to the household for correction.  Please return corrected meal application to the Food Service Office.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail:
   U.S. Department of Agriculture
   Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
   1400 Independence Avenue, SW
   Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. fax:
   (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. email:
   program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

05/05/2022