Slight change in income guidelines for free, reduced-price school lunches

It’ll be a few weeks yet before the kids go back to school, hit the Iowa Department of Education has set the guidelines for families to receive free or reduced price lunches. Patty Harding is a consultant to the department on nutritional issues and says the guidelines haven’t changed much. She says for one person it went up $300, but she says it all depends on the size of the household and how much you make. Harding says you should get a notice on how to sign up. She says many schools send out an application with their registration packets. Harding says schools will also have the new guidelines to let you know if your kids qualify. She says the schools send out a parent letter with the income guidelines along with the application. She says if you don’t get an application, call your local school. Harding says around 31-percent of the students in Iowa’s public schools qualified for free or reduced priced lunches last year. She says each school and the central office has a copy of the complete local school district policy for free and reduced price meals which may be reviewed by anyone.