Pleasanton USD's Free And Reduced Meal Program

Press release from Pleasanton Unified School District:

August 18, 2020

Pleasanton, California – Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) is proud to serve
nutritious meals every school day under the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast
Program. Effective July 1, 2020 through June 30,2021, children are eligible for free or reduced-
price meals if the household income is less than or equal to the federal guidelines. The District’s
Child Nutrition Services team produced a short instructional video that explains the application
and process which can be viewed at the following link: Serving families in need since the shelter in
place that took place last Spring, the PUSD Child Nutrition Services team has served 132,032 meals from March through the end of Summer.

Families do not need to turn in an application when the household receives a notification letter
saying that all children automatically qualify for free meals when any household member
receives benefits from CalFresh, CalWORKs, or FDPIR. Children who meet the definition of
foster, homeless, migrant, or runaway, and children enrolled in their school’s Head Start program
are eligible for free meals. Contact the District Child Nutrition Services office at (925) 307-0949
if any child in the household is not on the notification letter. The household must let school
officials know if they do not want to receive free or reduced-price meals.

Applications will be sent to the household with a letter about the free and reduced-price meal
program. Households that want to apply for meal benefits, must fill out one application for all
children in the household and give it to Child Nutrition Nutrition office at 1155 Santa Rita Rd.
Pleasanton, CA 94566. For a simple and secure method to apply, use our online application at
https://www.myschoolapps.com/H... Contact Teresa Burke at (925) 426-4417 for help filling out the application. Child Nutrition will let you know if your application is approved or denied for free or reduced-price meals.

Households may turn in an application at any time during the school year. If you are not
eligible now, but your household income goes down, household size goes up, or a household
member starts receiving CalFresh, CalWORKs, or FDPIR, you may turn in an application at
that time. Information given on the application will be used to determine eligibility and may
be verified at any time during the school year by school officials. The last four digits of the
Social Security number from any adult household or checking that you do not have a Social
Security number is required if you include income on the application.

Households that receive Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) benefits, may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals by filling out an
application.

Foster children are eligible for free meals and may be included as a household member if the
foster family chooses to also apply for the non-foster children on the same application.
Including foster children as a household member may help the non-foster children qualify for
free or reduced-price meals. If the non-foster children are not eligible, this does not keep
foster children from receiving free meals.

For more information including menus and meal service locations, visit the PUSD ChildNutrition Services website.

Additional Information
A student’s eligibility status from last school year will continue into the new school year for
up to 30 school days or until the school processes their new application, or a student is
otherwise certified for free or reduced-price meals. After the 30 school days, students will be
required to pay full price for meals, unless the household receives a notification letter for free
or reduced-price meals. School officials do not have to send reminder or expired eligibility
notices.

If families do not agree with the decision or results of verification, you may discuss it with
school officials. You also have the right to a fair hearing, which may be requested by calling
or writing the hearing official: Assistant Superintendent Business Services 4665 Bernal,
Ave. Pleasanton, Ca 94566 Phone: 925.462.5500.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

About Pleasanton Unified School District
Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) serves nearly 15,000 students in 15 schools (9
Elementary Schools, 3 Middle Schools, 2 Comprehensive High Schools, 1 Continuation High
School). Our mission is simple: Our students will make a better world. For more information,
visit our website: www.pleasantonusd.net or connect with us on social media: Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter.

This press release was produced by Pleasanton Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.