As students return to classrooms across the state, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is announcing eligibility guidelines for students to receive free and reduced-price lunch, breakfast, and after-school snacks. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and After-School Care Program are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by ISBE.
“We are very proud to administer the federal School Nutrition Programs in the state of Illinois,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “So many families count on school meals to provide their children with routine access to excellent nutrition. Thanks to these programs, our schools were able to serve nearly 213 million meals for free or at a reduced price last year.”
Some Illinois school districts qualify and participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for the National School Lunch Program. CEP is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. Last school year, 381 Illinois school districts were approved, providing more than 850,000 students with access to free, nutritious lunch and breakfast meals.
School districts that participate in the federal lunch program are required to follow a meal pattern consisting of five components: milk; fruits; vegetables; grains; and meat or meat alternates, such as cheese, yogurt, tofu, nuts, and seeds. These guidelines are based on scientific evidence and recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which encourage consuming a variety of foods that are nutritionally balanced and promote health. The MyPlate Guide to School Lunch and MyPlate Guide to School Breakfast highlight how a variety of healthy foods are part of the NSLP and SBP meals.
The following charts list the household size and income criteria that determine students’ eligibility to receive free and reduced-price lunch, breakfast, and after-school snacks through NSLP and SBP. The income guidelines took effect at the start of fiscal year 2024 on July 1, 2023. The USDA sets the policy for each fiscal year to reflect any changes in the federal poverty guidelines.
Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
o file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027 (USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form), which can be obtained at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the assistant secretary for civil rights about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
- Mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or - Fax: 833-256-1665 or 202-690-7442; or
- Email: program.intake@usda.gov
***Courtesy of the Illinois State Board of Education***
