Bulloch Co Schools: Apply for School Meal Benefits, USDA Ends Free Meals Extension

Updated information from Bulloch County Schools on free & reduced-price meals and how to apply:

Breakfast is free for all children enrolled in Bulloch County Schools, but families need to complete a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application to see if they will qualify for lunch cost benefits for the new school year that begins August 1.

All children have received free meals for the past two years regardless of income thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s extension of its feeding programs during the COVID-19 global pandemic. That federal assistance has now ended.

Children are not eligible for lunch benefits the first day of school without a completed, approved application. If the school district has documentation that a family is eligible for the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Department of Human Resources’ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program(TANF) or if a family completed an application and was eligible for benefits in Bulloch County Schools during the 2019-2020 school year, the school district will grant a grace period for benefits until September 13, but a completed, approved application will be needed for benefits to continue after that date.

Any eligible family without a completed, approved application after September 13, will be required to pay full price for lunches. Elementary school lunches are $2.25 per day and middle/high school lunches are $2.50.

Families only have to complete one application per household, and not an application for each child. If you do not believe your family is eligible for benefits, you do not have to submit an application. Also, families with children at Langston Chapel Elementary School or Langston Chapel Middle School do not have to fill out an application unless they have children that attend other schools.

Applications Help Your Family Beyond School Meals
Completing a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application can help prevent food insecurity, but it can also help families in other ways beyond school nutrition. It can help their child’s school receive needed federal grants, like Title I, to support learning, and it can help families receive home Internet assistance, waivers for SAT, ACT and Advanced Placement testing fees, and waivers for college application fees.

Where to get an application
Bulloch County Schools will make the application available to families in the following ways:

• July 7: A Letter and application will be mailed and emailed to the addresses we have on file
• Beginning July 12: 
  • The application will be available on the Bulloch County Schools School Nutrition website to print and complete
  • The application will be available on the Bulloch County Schools website to complete online via the My School Apps website.
  • The application will be embedded in the online Register for School tool when parents register new students
  • The application will be embedded in the Campus Parent website and mobile application (app) for returning students when families use this tool to update their child’s information.
• July 28: The application will be available from your school at Open House on this date and in the school office thereafter.

Community Eligibility Program for Langston Chapel Schools
Langston Chapel Elementary and Langston Chapel Middle qualify for the USDA’s Community Eligibility Program. All students at these schools will automatically receive free breakfast and lunch. Their families do not have to complete an application unless they have children at other non-CEP schools.

Turn in completed applications

• To your child’s school;
• To the school district’s School Nutrition Department at 18201 Hwy 80 West, Statesboro, GA 30458. A secured drop box is located at the office for drop offs after business hours; or
• Complete and submit the application online after July 12 using the My School Apps website, the Register for School tool (for new students) or the Campus Parent tool (for returning students), all of which are accessible on the school district’s website.