By MATT PIKE
Some changes will be coming next school year in the St. Joseph School District to the free and reduced-price lunch program.
Many students who utilized the program previously qualified under the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, however heading into the new school year the CEP will be ending just as the district shifts to a new school model.
With that change, Food Services Director Becky Schoeneck says those families who used free and reduced-price lunches must apply to qualify.
"Students of those schools automatically qualified for free breakfast and lunch, so now next year those families will have to make sure that if they want to see if they qualify, they will need to fill out an application," Schoeneck says on the KFEQmunnity show.
Applications for the free and reduced-price lunches will open next week on July 1st for families to fill out.
"Any application filled out after July 1st will be applied to the 2026-27 school year, families can apply at any time," Schoeneck explains. "They can do it either online through the nutrition services page on the school district website, or they can call their school directly and ask for a paper application, or they can call the nutrition services office, and we'll walk them through that process."
There are some exceptions to the application and students that will automatically qualify for the program however, Schoeneck adds.
"Students that come in on what's called the direct certification list automatically qualify for free meals," Schoeneck says. "These are students that have been identifed by the state as either participating in SNAP benefits, or that are marked as either foster care or homeless, if you have a student in your household that is on that list you will receive a letter from our office letting you know that you do not need to fill out an application and that your household automatically qualifies."
Letters from the district will be sent out in the coming weeks. Schoeneck says families that receive letters should make sure every student in the household is on that letter. Those that are not, will need to have an application filled out for.
Interview
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