The Indiana Department of Education recently announced free or discounted school meals and free milk offered under the federally funded National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program. shared federal eligibility guidelines for
The household size and income criteria used to determine child eligibility are available here. Your local school corporation office also has this information.
In Indiana, 1 in 7 children face hunger, and over 46% of households have children on SNAP.
According to Indiana Public Schools Review, approximately 42% of Indiana public school students will have access to a free lunch this 2022-2023 school year. Indiana ranks him 23rd among states with free or discounted lunch plans for students.
IDOE provides charts of household size and income criteria used to determine if a child qualifies for the lunch program. For example, parents of a student in a household of four must earn less than $51,338 annually.
Children’s hunger doesn’t end during the school week. Blessing in a Backpack is just one program that delivers food home to kids to keep them fed for the weekend. He serves 88,900 students in over 1,000 programs in 44 states, including Indiana.
— Tubby Fitzgerald