Children need healthy meals to learn! Hillsborough County Student Nutrition Services offers healthy meals every school day. Before you proceed, please follow this link to check if your child's school is a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school. If your child attends a CEP school, there is no need to fill out a meal application. Instead, you can complete an Alternative Income Verification (AIV) form if you need to determine meal status for other programs. You can get this form at your child's school front office. APPLY NOW IF YOUR CHILD IS IN A CEP SCHOOL
If you have other children in your household who are NOT ENROLLED in a CEP school, please continue with this application.
APPLY NOW IF YOUR CHILD IS NOT IN A CEP SCHOOL Download Application Information for Parents: English | Spanish
If you received a NOTICE OF DIRECT CERTIFICATION: DO NOT complete an application. Please read the entire letter and follow the instructions carefully. See #6 for more information.
Yes! Beginning July 1st each school year, and you are encouraged to do so! Applying online is quick, confidential, and easy! The online application has the same requirements and will ask for the same information as the paper application. Apply online and follow the instructions. Contact the Healthy Meals Express Application Center at 813-840-7066 if you have any questions about the online application process. Yes! Beginning July 1st each school year, and you are encouraged to do so! Applying online is quick, confidential, and easy! The online application has the same requirements and will ask for the same information as the paper application. Apply online and follow the instructions. Contact the Healthy Meals Express Application Center at 813-840-7066 if you have any questions about the online application process.
Yes! It is available in 7 languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Filipino, Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) & Chinese (Mandarin). You may view a SAMPLE free and reduced meal application in 49 languages h e r e www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/translated-applications
Computers are available for use at no cost at the local public library and at the Healthy Meals Express Application Center, 9014 Brittany Way, Tampa, Florida, 33619. Your child’s school may also have a computer that can be used to complete an application. Need information where to obtain a paper application? Contact the Healthy Meals Express Application Center at 813-840-7066.
No. Use one meal application for all students in your household. We cannot approve an application that is not complete, so be sure to fill out all required information. If approved, your child’s status will remain in effect for the entire school year
No, but please read the letter you received carefully and follow the instructions. If any children in your household were missing from your eligibility notification, contact the Healthy Meals Express Application Center at 813-840-7066 immediately.
Yes. Your child’s application is only good for that school year. If you do not submit a new application that is approved, or you have not received a NOTICE OF DIRECT CERTIFICATION, your child will be charged the full price for meals.
Call Healthy Meals Express Application Center 813-840-7066. Make sure to have your child’s 7-didgit student ID number handy when calling.
Are your housing arrangements temporary? Does your family relocate on a seasonal basis? Have you taken in a runaway child? If you believe children in your household meet these descriptions, please contact the liaison at the child’s school for assistance.
Children in households participating in WIC may be eligible for free or reduced- price meals. Please submit an application.
Yes, you may apply at any time during the school year if there is a change in your household income or size, or if you become unemployed.
Contact the Healthy Meals Express Application Center at 813-840-7066. You may also ask for a hearing by writing to: General Manager of Student Nutrition Services, 9014 Brittany Way, Tampa, Florida 33619.
Yes. You, your children, or other household members do not have to be U.S. citizens to apply for free or reduced-price meals.
List the amount that you normally receive. If you normally receive overtime, include it, but do not include it if you only work overtime sometimes. If you have lost a job, or had your hours or wages reduced, use your current income.
If there is no income to report, mark the box that says “None” for each household member. If you enter ‘0’ or leave any fields blank, you are certifying (promising) that there is no income to report.
Your basic pay and cash bonuses must be reported as income. If you receive any cash value allowances for off-base housing, food, or clothing, it must also be included as income. However, if your housing is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, do not include your housing allowance as income. Any additional combat pay resulting from deployment is also excluded from income. Deployed service members are considered part of the household. List deployed service members in the Household section, but report only the portion of their income made available to them or on their behalf to the family.