Free & Reduced Meal Application & Information
ATTENTION PARENTS!
Starting on January 3, 2023, Vernon Public Schools will be returning to PAID meals.
It is more important than ever to apply for free or reduced-price meals if you think your family qualifies. Meal applications provide more than free meals. Qualifying meal applications can be used to allow discounts on college application fees, athletics, and academic tests. The district also receives funding based on the number of approved meal applications each year. A new meal application must be submitted each year.
Vernon Public Schools send meal applications home at the beginning of each school year. However, you may apply for school meals any time during the school year by submitting an application directly to Food & Nutrition Services. If you’re earning at or below current Income Eligibility Guidelines, you are encouraged to to fill out a school meal application (below). Applications are reviewed by district officials before granting free or reduced-price benefits. If you receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, all of your children who attend school automatically qualify for free school meals. Participation in other federal assistance programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) also provides automatic eligibility. Please contact the Food & Nutrition Department to determine if you need to fill out an application.
All information is confidential and will not be shared outside of the Food & Nutrition Department. We encourage you to fill out the Sharing Information with Other Programs so that meal benefit information can be shared to receive benefits in other areas.
For help filling out the meal application, watch the 16-minute video from Connecticut State Department of Education. How to Fill Out a Meal Application
Drop off or mail completed forms to:
Food & Nutrition Vernon Public Schools
30 Park Street, Vernon, CT 06066
Forms can also be emailed to:
Elizabeth Fisher, Director
efisher@vernon-ct.gov
Meal Application 2022-2023
Maple Street School, Skinner Road School, and Northeast School participate in the Community Eligibility Provision and will receive meals at no cost all school year. If your student attends one of these schools, you do not need to fill out a meal application unless you have a student in the same household that attends another Vernon Public School.
Additional Information & Forms
Crispy Chicken Sandwich, local bell peppers, milk, and applesauce
Fast Facts
- Please send completed meal applications to Food & Nutrition Services at 30 Park Street, Vernon, CT 06066.
- Use one application for all students in your household.
- If you have received a NOTICE OF DIRECT CERTIFICATION for free or reduced-price meals, do not complete a meal application unless directed to do so by the district.
- If you qualified for free or reduced-price meals last year, you must reapply again for the upcoming school year.
- The 30-day carry over period allows meal benefits from last school year to be honored 30 days into the new school year. Please submit a new application before the 30-day carry over period expires.
French Toast Breakfast Parfait
Nondiscrimination Statement
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.