SFUSD Continues School Nutrition Program for 2019-20

Press Release

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) continues to serve free and reduced-price meals in the 2019-2020 school year, offering students nutritious and appealing meals at school. Families can apply now to receive this benefit for the new school year.

Research indicates that eating school meals can improve academic performance, overall health, and can provide students with the energy and focus needed to learn. Student Nutrition Services (SNS) serves over 37,000 meals per day at 134 schools across San Francisco. Up to three meals are available at school each day. The district’s nutrition guidelines meet or exceed the standards outlined in federal, state, and local policies established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and California Department of Education (CDE). SFUSD also participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). All students at CEP schools, listed below, are offered meals at no cost regardless of household income or form submission.

Effective July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the household income is less than or equal to the federal guidelines. “Household” is synonymous with family and is defined as a group of related or unrelated individuals who are not residents of an institution or boarding house, but who are living as one economic unit sharing housing and all significant income and expenses. 

Students automatically eligible for free meals are:  Foster, Homeless, Migrant or Runaway Students or in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits — known as CalFresh in California, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) benefits — or students who are recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — known as CalWORKs in California — are automatically eligible for free meal benefits. 

Households do not need to apply for meal benefits when the household receives a Direct Certification letter stating the student automatically qualifies to receive free or reduced price meals for the current school year. 

Contact Student Nutrition Services at 415-749-3604 or schoollunch@sfusd.edu if any student in the household meets the criteria or does not receive a Direct Certification letter. The household must let Student Nutrition Services know if they do not want to receive free or reduced-price meal benefits. 

NOTE: There will be no charge for meals to PreK and TK students. 

Other potentially eligible students: Households that receive Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Student (WIC) benefits, may be eligible for free or reduced-price meal benefits by submitting the form. Foster students are eligible for free meals and may be included as a household member if the foster family chooses to also apply for the non-foster student on the same form. Including foster students as a household member may help the non-foster student qualify for free or reduced-price meal benefits. If the non-foster student is not eligible, this does not keep foster student from receiving free meals. 

How to apply for free or reduced-price meals: 

• Apply online: Households that want to apply for meal benefits online may fill out the Multipurpose Family Income Form (MFIF) in a simple, secure and confidential method at Schoolcafe.com and include all students in the household enrolled in SFUSD schools, including Early Education Schools. 

• Apply in person: Households that want to apply for meal benefits in person may submit a paper form to your student’s school.

• Apply by mail: Households that want to apply for meal benefits by mail may send the form to the Student Nutrition office at 841 Ellis Street, San Francisco CA 94109. Contact Noelia Oropeza via email at Schoollunch@sfusd.edu or call 415-749-3604 for help filling out the form. Student Nutrition Services will notify the household with a letter or email if your form was approved or denied for free or reduced-price meal benefits.

Student Nutrition Services is committed to providing students the equitable support they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond, by keeping them nourished along the way. While proposed new federal regulations would make it so that fewer families would qualify for food stamps, our programs have not been affected.

Community Eligibility Program (CEP) Schools

All students at the following schools are offered meals at no cost regardless of household income or form submission:

Bessie Carmichael, Bret Harte Elementary, Bryant Elementary, Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8, Burton High, Dr. G.W. Carver Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, Dr. Charles Drew Elementary, Civic Center Secondary, Cleveland Elementary, Downtown High, Cobb Elementary, Edwin and Anita Lee Newcomer School, El Dorado Elementary, ER Taylor Elementary, Francisco Middle, Flynn Elementary, Gordon Lau Elementary, Guadalupe Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Hilltop High, Ida B. Wells High, Denman Middle, James Lick Middle, Jean Parker Elementary, John Muir Elementary, John Y. Chin Elementary, John O’Connell High, J. Serra Elementary, June Jordan High, KIPP Bayview, KIPP SF Bay, Longfellow Elementary, Marina Middle, Malcolm X Elementary, Marshall Elementary, McCauley Adolescent Center, Mission High, Mission Education Center, ML King Middle, Monroe Elementary, Moscone Elementary, One Purpose, Paul Revere, Redding Elementary, Sanchez Elementary, SF International High, Sheridan Elementary, Spring Valley Elementary, Tenderloin Elementary, Thurgood Marshall High, Visitacion Valley Elementary, Visitacion Valley Middle, Willie Brown Middle.

 

For more information about Student Nutrition Services or SFUSD’s school meal program, please contact Jennifer LeBarre, Executive Director of Student Nutrition Services, San Francisco Unified School District, at 415-749-3604 or schoollunch@sfusd.edu.

 

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Page updated on 08/09/19