Dear CREC Parent/Guardian,
As you may have heard or read in the news, several school districts in Connecticut, including Hartford Public Schools, East Hartford Public Schools, and New Britain Public Schools, are participating in a program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that allows all children regardless of household income or economic status to receive free school meals and snacks without completing and submitting meal applications.
For a local educational agency (LEA) to use the CEP for school year 2021-22 the LEA must have one or more schools that have an identified student percentage of 40 percent or greater as of June 7, 2021. The identified student percentage is NOT the same as the total number of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Identified student percentage counts include only students directly certified for free meals through documentation provided by the following programs:
~ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
~ Temporary Family Assistance (TFA);
~ homeless students determined as such by the district homeless liaison;
~ runaway youth determined by local officials;
~ Head Start and
~ foster children, determined through means other than a household application.
All CREC schools except Ana Grace, Reggio, Arts Middle, Polaris Center, Academy of Science and Innovation, Montessori, Civic Leadership High School, and TRMMS either do not meet the above criteria to implement this provision, or the identified student percentages are too low to make it economically feasible. It does not matter where the household resides; being a resident of Hartford, East Hartford, or New Britain does not make the student eligible for free meals in CREC schools.
Your child(ren) may still qualify for free or reduced priced meal benefits if they are Directly Certified (household receives SNAP or TFA benefits), other above listed criteria, or based on household income.
If you have not been Directly Certified or do not meet the above criteria and wish to see if you qualify for benefits, you will need to submit a meal application (if you have not already done so) so that we can determine your eligibility status. Meal applications are available at each school office or at the crecschools.org website under each school’s “For Parents and Students > Menu and Meal program info” webpage.
Free and reduced price meal applications are needed and available online for the following CREC sponsored schools only:
- University of Hartford Magnet School
- International Magnet School for Global Citizenship
- Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts High School (9-12)
- Metropolitan Learning Center)
The process is SAFE, SECURE, PRIVATE, and AVAILABLE anytime, anywhere!
Online meal applications are available at www.myschoolapps.com
Please contact your child’s school office if you have any questions.
Thank you!