Welcome to Student Nutrition Services

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Our school provides healthy meals each day. The United States Department of Agriculture is allowing schools to provide meals for the 2021-22 school year through a provision of the National School Lunch Program called the Seamless Summer Option (SSO). A waiver has been issued in order to support access to nutritious meals while minimizing potential exposure to COVD-19.

Our school has chosen to use this waiver and operate the SSO which enables us to provide meals free of charge for all students. Although no application is required to receive this free meal benefit your child(ren) may qualify additional benefits such as reduced fees or the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) which is a federal temporary emergency nutrition benefit that is loaded onto electronic cards for families to purchase food. At public schools, your application also helps the school qualify for education funds and discounts.

To apply, complete the Application for Educational Benefits following the instructions. Return your completed Application for Educational Benefits to:

Student Nutrition
1001 Highway 7
Hopkins, MN 55305

Who should complete this application? Children in households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), and foster, homeless, migrant and runaway children can qualify without reporting household income. Alternatively, children can qualify if their household income is within the maximum income shown for their household size on the instructions.

Common Questions

I get WIC or Medical Assistance. Can my children qualify? Children in households participating in WIC or Medical Assistance do not automatically qualify. Children may be eligible depending on other household financial information. Please fill out an application.

Who should I include as household members? Include yourself and all other people living in the household, related or not (such as grandparents, other relatives, or friends).

May I apply if someone in my household is not a U.S. citizen? Yes. You or your children do not have to be U.S. citizens for your children to complete an application.

What if my income is not always the same? List the amount that you normally get. If you normally get overtime, include it, but not if you get overtime only sometimes. For seasonal work, write in the total annual income.

Will the income information or case number I give be checked? It may be. We may also ask you to send written proof.

How will the information be kept? Information you provide on the form, and your child’s approval, will be protected as private data. For more information see the back page of the Application for Educational Benefits.

If I don’t qualify now, may I apply later? Yes. Please complete an application at any time if your income goes down, your household size goes up, or you start getting SNAP, MFIP or FDPIR benefits.

Please provide the information requested about children’s racial identity and ethnicity, which helps to make sure we are fully serving our community. This information is not required for approval.

If you have other questions or need help, call 952-988-4060.

Sincerely,
Barb Merchura
Director – Student Nutrition Services Hopkins Public Schools

Complete the Application for Educational Benefits form for school year 2021-22 if any of the following applies to your household:

• Any household member currently participates in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) or
• The household includes one or more foster children (a welfare agency or court has legal responsibility for the child) or
• The total income of household members is within the guidelines shown below (gross earnings before deductions, not takehome pay). Do not include as income: foster care payments, federal education benefits, MFIP payments, or value of assistance received from SNAP, WIC, or FDPIR. Military: Do not include combat pay or assistance from the Military Privatized Housing Initiative. The income guidelines are effective from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.

Step 1: Children

List all infants and children in the household, their school and grade if applicable, and birthdate. Attach an additional page if needed to list all children. Check the box if a child is in foster care (a welfare agency or court has legal responsibility for the child).

Step 2: Case Number

If any household member currently participates in SNAP, MFIP or FDPIR, write in the case number and then go to Step 4. If you do not participate in any of these programs, leave Step 2 blank and continue on to Step 3.

Step 3: Adult and Child Incomes / Last 4 Digits of Social Security Number

• Social Security Number/Total Household Members. An adult household member must provide the last four digits of their Social Security number or check the box if they do not have a Social Security number. Report the total number of household members and ensure all household members are listed individually on the application in the child or adult section as applicable.
• Child Income. If any children in the household have regular income, such as SSI or part-time jobs, list the total amount of regular incomes received by all children, and check the box for the frequency: weekly, bi-weekly, twice a month, or monthly. Do not include occasional earnings like babysitting or lawn mowing.
• Adult income. Report the names of adult household members and income earned in this section.
  • List all adults living in the household not listed in Step 1, whether related or not, such as grandparents, relatives, or friends.
  • Gross Earnings from Work. This is usually the money received from working at jobs where a paycheck is received. For each income, check the box to show how often the income is received: weekly, bi-weekly, twice per month, or monthly.
  • List gross incomes before deductions, not take-home pay. Do not list an hourly wage rate. For adults with no income to report, enter a ‘0’ or leave the section blank. For seasonal work, write in the total annual income.
  • Are you Self-Employed or a Farmer? List the net income per month or year after business expenses. Do not list the same income twice on the application. A loss from farm or self-employment must be listed as 0 income and does not reduce other income.
  • Any Other Gross Income. List gross incomes before deductions from all other sources, such as SSI, unemployment, child support, public assistance, social security, rental income or annuities.

Step 4: Signature and Contact Information

An adult household member must sign the form. If you do not want your information to be shared with Minnesota Health Care Programs, check the “Don’t share” box in Step 4.

Optional: Waiver of Confidentiality

To save you time and effort, your student(s) lunch eligibility status may be shared with other district staff for the purpose of financial aid assistance for which your children may qualify. We must have permission to share your information. By marking the permission to share boxes you allow your student(s) name and eligibility to be shared with those departments.