For 2020-21

All meals are free for all students for the remainder of this school year.

If you still need free/reduced eligibility status for other programs, the online applications are below.

FCPS Child Nutrition participates in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs sponsored by the USDA. Breakfast and lunch are available at no cost to qualifying students. Details on the available programs are listed below.

Direct Certification (DC)

Students may be directly certified (DC) when they receive certain federal benefits, including:

• SNAP (formerly Food Stamps)
• K-TAP (Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program) 

If your student has been identified as DC, you will receive a letter from the FCPS Child Nutrition office letting you know that the state has automatically approved your child for benefits. (Please read the letter carefully to ensure all the children in your household have been identified.) If your household receives federal benefits but you have not received a 2020-21 letter from FCPS Child Nutrition by the start of school, please go ahead and fill out one of the applications below. 

Note: Some foster children and children receiving some Medicaid types may also be considered DC. Students identified by the district as homeless, Head Start, migrant, and runaways will also be considered DC, starting on the date that the district identifies them to one of the listed programs.

If your child is not DC, please look for their school below for details on the different assistance programs.

Non-CEP schools application for benefits (free/reduced meals):

• Elementary: Athens-Chilesburg, Brenda Cowan, Cassidy, Clays Mill, Garrett Morgan, Liberty, Maxwell, Rosa Parks, Sandersville, Stonewall, Veterans Park, and Wellington
• Middle: Beaumont, Edythe J. Hayes, Jessie Clark, and Morton
• High: Henry Clay, Lafayette, and Paul Laurence Dunbar
• Other programs: Rise STEM Academy for Girls, SCAPA at Bluegrass, and STEAM Academy

Find your household size in the chart below. If your income is less than that listed for your household size, your children might qualify for meal benefits and you should complete an application.

Eligibility income chart

Families must reapply each year. The district will notify you when the application has been processed. Meanwhile, please send money or a packed lunch with your student until they have been approved.

The online application takes only a few minutes and is the fastest, easiest, and most confidential way to get approved. For assistance, email Jessica (Whisman) Morgison.

Meal Assistance Application

Online applications are also available in Spanish, Arabic, French, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin). Look for the language link on the top right of the application screen. 

Community Eligibility Provision (2020-21)

Students enrolled at the following sites are eligible for meals at no charge.

• Elementary: Arlington, Ashland, Booker T. Washington, Breckinridge, Cardinal Valley, Coventry Oak, Deep Springs, Dixie, Garden Springs, Glendover, Harrison, James Lane Allen, Julius Marks, Lansdowne, Mary Todd, Meadowthorpe, Millcreek, Northern, Picadome, Russell Cave, Southern, Squires, Tates Creek, William Wells Brown, and Yates
• Middle: Bryan Station, Crawford, Leestown, Lexington Traditional Magnet, Southern, Tates Creek, and Winburn
• High: Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, and Tates Creek
• Other programs: Audrey Grevious Center, Carter G. Woodson Academy, Family Care Center, Fayette County Preschool Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, Opportunity Middle College, Success Academy, The Learning Center, and The Stables  

For more information on CEP and how schools are selected, please see our FAQ. 

To help ensure your child’s school receives the full amount of federal and state funding available and your child is receiving all the services they are eligible for, the school must have a way to identify households that are at or below the federal poverty level. Certain funding is based on this information. That is why it is so important for you to return this information to your school. Please complete the Educational Benefits Form (EBF) as soon as possible.

*If you have children that attend both CEP and Non-CEP schools, DO NOT fill out this EBF form. Fill out the previous application (orange button above) for free and reduced-price meals instead.

Educational Benefits Form