The new Healthy School Meals for All Program provides the opportunity for districts to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students at participating schools starting in the 2023-24 school year.
For this year, it’s still very important for families to fill out the Free & Reduced Lunch Forms (also called Meal Benefits Application, Alternative Income Form, School Resource Form) so schools receive full access to federal funding and for your student to qualify for fee waivers for AP testing, athletics, band or field trips, and discounted school fees, class materials, bus passes, utilities support and more. Confidentiality of this information is protected by law. Only one form is required for all children in the household. Immigration, migrant, citizenship or refugee status is not required when completing the form.
Additional federal funds will go directly to schools to help cover the cost of meals and will also support afterschool activities and other nutritional programs for students.
Contact your school’s nutrition department for details about which form to complete and for more information. Learn more about Healthy School Meals for All at www.cde.state.co.us/nutrition/healthy-school-meals-for-all-program.
Local Unit PTAs:
Your support is needed to help maximize federal funding for your district and school. Please work with your school to encourage your families to complete your district’s benefit form. To support your efforts, the Colorado Department of Education has created these helpful resources for schools, available in English and Spanish:*
- Healthy School Meals for All one-page flier
- Newsletter write-up to share with families
- Social media posts and graphics
- Robo call script and text messages
- Family-facing template letter
* Colorado Department of Education Healthy School Meals for All Communications Toolkit
https://www.cde.state.co.us/nutrition/toolkit-healthyschoolmealsforall#websitecopy
Please work with your school and district nutrition department to get the word out! The Jeffco Food and Nutrition Services website has an abundance of helpful information – https://www.jeffcoschoolfood.org/