CHILD NUTRITION SERVICES
FREE AND REDUCED MEALS | BRANDON VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT




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 Free and Reduced Meals

Free and Reduced Applications are available to families who believe they meet the income eligibility criteria to qualify for this benefit. Applications for the 2023-24 school year are available now. Applications are available through Family Access on Skyward. Please note: Free and Reduced Applications for school meals are based on income eligibility. This process does not guarantee free meals for students.

Free and Reduced Meal Application Information/Tutorial - Click Here.

Check out this video to help you complete your application! - Click Here

Parent Packet and Frequently Asked Questions - Click Here.


 Frequently Asked Questions

Application for free and reduced meals must be filled out online (see above). Accommodations can be made, if necessary please contact Andrea Kruse.
Phone: 1(605) 582-3926
Email: Andrea.Kruse@k12.sd.us

Children in households receiving SNAP, TANF, or benefits from the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and most foster children can get free meals regardless of your income. Children in Head Start receive free meals at Head Start. If your household income is within the limits on the Income Guidelines chart, children can get free or reduced-price meals. If you received a letter from Social Services or an Interagency Notification from the commodity warehouse, turn that into the school/center instead of filling out an application. You can write the names of other children from your household on that letter and they will get free meals as well. If you did not receive a FDPIR Notification, you can ask for one from the certifier.

Typically, you do not. You may complete the application to apply for free or reduced-price meals for all your children in the household. If you have foster children, you must have a separate application for them. We cannot approve an application that is not complete, so be sure to fill out all required information. The school can give you more application forms if you need them.

Foster children are categorically eligible for free meal benefits. An application is not needed yet there does need to be documentation of status by a state or local entity familiar with the child's status. Foster children may be included in the household application as part of the household size.

Yes, all people living in the home must be included and all income must be reported. Signature and all other pertinent information must be provided prior to being approved. If all information is not included it may delay the processing of the application.

No. The date the application is turned in to the Child Nutrition Department is the date when it is approved.

No, in 2008 USDA changed the guideline stating that once approved for a school year you do not need to call in or provide further information.

Yes. Your child’s application is only good for one school year. Applications need to be updated annually at the start of each school year. There is a 30-day grace period that takes place to get all of the information in to the school. If you do not reapply in time your family will automatically be reverted to a paid status. You must submit a new application unless the school told you that your child is eligible for the new school year.

If you have not been informed that they will get free meals, please call the school's homeless liaison/migrant coordinator, Wendy Otheim at 1(605) 582-3446 to see if your child(ren) qualifies.

Children in households participating in WIC or from households that get Medicaid may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Please fill out an application and list your income and family members.

If your housing is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, do not include your housing allowance as income. All other allowances must be included in your gross income.

No, if the combat pay is received in addition to the basic pay because of deployment and it wasn’t received before deployment, combat pay is not counted as income. Contact your school for more information.

Yes, we may ask you to send written proof of the information you give.

No. At time of application only a completed form is required. Wage verifications occur through a random verification process required by the NSLP (National School Lunch Program) and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). If selected then all income verifications are required.

We will use the information on your form to decide if your children should get free or reduced-price meals. We may inform officials associated with other child nutrition, health, and education programs of the information on your form to determine benefits for those programs or for funding and/or evaluation purposes only.

Yes. You may apply at any time during the school year if your household size goes up, income goes down, or if you begin to qualify for SNAP (formerly Food Stamps), FDPIR, or TANF. If you lose your job, children may be able to get free or reduced-price meals during the time you are unemployed.

You may apply any time during the school year. If there are changes in the family unit, such as birth of another child, death of an income source, job layoff or termination, long illness, divorce or any other means, you may reapply. One example given is a family did not qualify in September and the spouse was just laid off from work. You may reapply for a temporary approval which changes over to a regular approval if no other source of income transpires.

You should talk to district officials by calling or writing to Ty Hentschel, 300 S Splitrock Blvd, Brandon, SD 57005, Phone: 1(605)582-2058 or 1(888)201-3972.

The district will make substitutions to the regular meal pattern for children whose disability restricts their diet when a physician certifies that disability. The staff may choose to make substitutions for individual children who do not have a disability, but who cannot eat a food item due to medical or other special dietary needs that are supported by a certified medical authority. These cases will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Please call the school/center food service department for further information to request the special diet or fill out the application under “Special Diets.”

Yes. You or your child(ren) do not have to be U.S. citizens to qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

You must include all people living in your household, related or not (such as grandparents, other relatives, or friends). You must include yourself and all children who live with you.

List the amount that you normally get. For example, if you normally get $1000 each month, but you missed some work last month and only got $900, put down that you get $1000 per month. If you normally get overtime, write it down. If you only sometimes get overtime, do not write it down.

To find out how to apply for SNAP or other assistance benefits, contact your local assistance office. If you have other questions or need help, call 1(605)582-3926 or 1(888)201-3972 (Toll Free).

No. We are required to keep all information confidential. There are 2 employees with access to who is on the Free and Reduced Meal program. We find that students are the ones telling the cashier they are on Free or Reduced.