Can your kids still get free breakfast and lunch in Miami-Dade schools this year?
The Miami-Dade School District will provide free breakfast and lunch to all students for the 2022-23 school year, the district announced this week.
The free meals are available even with the end of a pandemic-era federal aid program that allowed all students, regardless of family income, to participate. The first day of school is Wednesday.
Though the district will no longer get money from the now-expired federal meals program, officials said funding from a separate federal program — the Community Eligibility Provision, which reimburses schools and school districts for meals in low-income areas — will support this year’s meal program.
READ MORE: What’s on the school menu as classes begin? Dill chicken chunks, fish nuggets and more
To qualify, schools need to have at least 40% of their student body eligible for other federal assistance, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), officials said.
Regardless of the change, families or guardians are not required to sign up or be approved to receive meals, officials confirmed Tuesday.
For children participating in after-school programs, meals will also be free. After-school meals program will continue this year for more than 250 schools.
READ MORE: How do you find your school? Is there free lunch? When is testing? What about days off?
