Hawaii Catholic Herald
Five Catholic schools on Oahu and Hawaii island will be offering free and reduced-price meals this academic year to children who cannot pay the full price of meals offered under the National School Lunch Program and/or the School Breakfast Program.
The schools are St. Philomena Early Learning Center in Honolulu; Mary, Star of the Sea Early Learning Center in Waialae-Kahala; and in Hilo, St. Joseph Early Learning Center, St. Joseph Elementary School and St. Joseph High School.
According to a press release from Hawaii Catholic Schools, applications are being sent to homes with letters to parents or guardians. The information provided on the applications will be reviewed and used to determine a household’s eligibility for free or reduced-price meals; it may be verified at any point throughout the academic year by school or program officials. Parents or guardians can appeal if they disagree with the results of the review.
Children are eligible for free meals if they are members of households that receive aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Households in these programs do not need to apply for free meal benefits; when the schools receive the necessary information, the households will be informed of their children’s eligibility.
If a student in the household is not listed on the eligibility notice, parents or guardians should inform the school. Households must also tell schools if they wish to decline free meal benefits.
Children also qualify for free meals if they legally defined as homeless, a migrant, a runaway, a foster child or are enrolled in Head Start.
Households who qualify for free or reduced-price meals aren’t required to report any changes in their size, income status or when they are no longer eligible for SNAP or TANF.
If your children attend one of the five listed schools, review the chart to see if you qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
