Austin ISD to provide free meals to all students at 74 of its schools for 2023-24 school year

Posted: Aug 10, 2023 / 01:27 PM CDT

Updated: Aug 10, 2023 / 04:03 PM CDT

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Independent School District will provide free breakfast and lunch for all students at 74 of the 116 schools in the district.

The meals will be provided through the Community Eligibility Provision program, a federally-funded meal service option for schools in low-income areas that allows districts to serve free meals to all enrolled students without any application or documentation.

Schools participating in the CEP Program:

Pre-K and Early Childhood Centers: Uphaus ECC
Elementary Schools: Allison, Andrews, Barrington, Blackshear, Blanton, Blazier, Boone,
Brown, Campbell, Casey, Cook, Cunningham, Dawson, Galindo, Govalle, Graham, Guerrero Thompson, Harris, Hart, Houston, Jordan, Joslin, Kocurek, Langford, Linder, McBee,
Menchaca, Norman-Sims, Oak Springs, Odom, Ortega, Overton, Padron, Palm, Pecan Springs,
Perez, Pickle, Pillow, Pleasant Hill, Rodriguez, Sanchez, St. Elmo, Travis Heights, Walnut
Creek, Widen, Williams, Winn, Wooldridge, Wooten, Zavala
Middle Schools: Bedichek, Burnet, Dobie, Garcia YMLA, Lively, Martin, Mendez, Paredes,
Sadler Means YWLA, Webb
High Schools: Akins ECHS, Crockett ECHS, Eastside ECHS, Garza Independence, GPA at
Navarro, GPA at Travis, International, LBJ ECHS, Navarro ECHS, Northeast ECHS, Travis
ECHS
Other Campuses: Alternative Learning Center, Rosedale School

Students at schools not eligible to participate in the CEP will dine at school using their meal
status (free, reduced-price, or paid).

New for the 2023-24 school year, students determined eligible for reduced-price meals will receive breakfast at no cost through funding allocated through the Texas legislature.

How to Receive Free or Reduced Price Meals at Schools Not Participating in the CEP
• Direct certification through state-funded benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Direct certification through enrollment in foster care; migrant, homeless, or runaway programs; Head Start or Early Head Start programs
• Determined eligible by creating an account and completing an AISD free or reduced price meal benefits application online. Paper applications are also available at schools

Eligibility for reduced meal prices

AISD works with local agencies to identify all children who are categorically and program eligible through state-funded programs and will notify the households of these children they do not need to complete an application.

Any household that does not receive a letter and feels it should have or wishes to decline benefits may contact AISD Food Service at 512-414-0251.

Families at schools not participating in the CEP program may submit meal benefit applications anytime during the school year. The information a household provides on the application will be used for the purpose of determining eligibility. Applications may also be verified by the school officials at any time during the school year.

AISD follows the Texas Department of Agriculture income guidelines to determine if a student is eligible for free or reduced-priced meals. If a household member becomes unemployed or if the household size increases, the household should contact the school. Such changes may make the children of the household eligible for benefits if the household’s income falls at or below the attached current income eligibility guidelines.

Students at schools that are not eligible for the program can still purchase breakfast and lunch at low costs.