With one week to go before the start of school Aug. 11, parents will need to fill out applications for their students that qualify for free or reduced lunch.

As part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, public school districts across the country were able to offer free lunches to students, regardless of income, because of education disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Princeton ISD Director of Child Nutrition Kelly Alvis said the funding to offer free lunch to all students expired June 30 and the district reverted back to its standard meal program. Families will be required to fill out an application, found on the district’s website, to qualify for free or reduced lunch for the upcoming school year, she added.

Applications for free or reduced lunch should be submitted as soon as possible because there have been some delays in the processing of applications.

“At the beginning of the year, we receive hundreds of applications, so it takes a little longer, but typically an application only takes a few minutes to process,” Alvis said. “We have had some software upgrades that have made the process [take] a little longer.”

Families filling out the application are only required to fill out one form per household, making sure to list each child attending school, Alvis said. For families with more than six children, they will need to fill out a paper application.

For the full story, see the Aug. 4 issue of The Princeton Herald.