Pre-pandemic school meal operations return

8/18/2022

The National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs welcome students to the 2022-2023 school year. This school year marks the return to pre-pandemic school meal program operations. The Ohio Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture have resources available to help notify families about this.

This year, to qualify for free or reduced-price meals, households will complete a free or reduced-price household meal application or schools may directly certify SNAP-participating students for free meals. Students not qualifying for free or reduced-price meals can purchase a meal at the school’s paid meal price. Schools operating the Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2 may continue offering no-cost meals to all students.

The Ohio Department of Education developed a customizable household notification template for communicating the return to traditional free, reduced and paid operations. The template is available in the Claims Reimbursement and Reporting System (CRRS) download documents section. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a question and answer guide about changes for the upcoming school year. The Ohio Department of Education encourages schools to share this page with families. Contact the Office of Nutrition at (614) 466-2945 or child.nutrition@education.ohio.gov for more nutrition program information.