This process involves a computer match of district students to information provided by the Department of Education, which marks students in families receiving SNAP, TANF, and FDPIR benefits as eligible for free meals at their school sites. If you qualify, you will receive written notification on approval.

Households who are directly certified do not need to complete an application. If there are additional students in the household that are directly certified, send an email to FNS Finance listing all students in the household and their Student ID Numbers. They will be linked to their siblings’ status within 24-28 business hours, of the date the email is received. Students cannot be linked until they are registered and have a schedule. If the student is new to the district they need call the week before school starts.

Students that are identified by the district as homeless, migrant, or runaway are entitled to free meals at their school sites. Homeless status must be confirmed by our S.I.T (Students in Transition) program. You should contact the homeless liaison at your child’s school or the district coordinator at 813-794-2262 to apply for the program. If approved, they will notify Food and Nutrition of your participation in the program and your children will begin receiving meal benefits. These students do not have to submit a meal application.

Only one (1) application is needed per household. Students are qualified through the application process based on the total number of household members and the combined income of the household members, or would qualify based on SNAP number. 

Before you begin the online application process, please make sure you have your social security numbers, and/or SNAP number. The system will automatically log you out if inactive for more than 10 minutes. The online application can be translated into a variety of languages directly on the site.

Important: A new application must be completed each school year. Meal benefits begin on the day the application is processed by Food and Nutrition Services and continue throughout the school year in which the application is approved, the summer, and approximately the first thirty days of the next school year. The approval process can take approximately 5-10 business days. Parents are asked to provide your child with lunch money or a lunch from home until you have received verification of your meal benefits.

If you have any questions on how to complete the application, please call (813) 794-4239. 

When two parents have joint custody of a child, the household that would provide the greatest benefits should apply for the child, (lowest income). 

A child who has been adopted is considered part of the household. No special consideration is given for adopted children. Households must complete an application based on income and include all members of the household, including the adopted child. Any adoption subsidy received by the household should be included as income.

The majority of foster children will qualify for free meals, via direct certification. Households still need to apply based on income and include all members of the household, including the foster child.

For the purposes of determining household size, deployed service members are considered part of the household. Their names should be included on the application, as well as their income, with the exclusion of combat pay. All allowances should be included in income, with the exception of a housing allowance that is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative.

A child temporarily away at school, living on campus, and receiving over half of their support from the household, is considered a member of the household and should be included in the application.

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), FDPIR (Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations), and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)

Determining a child’s eligibility for free meals based on their participation in state assistance programs.

Direct certification through local agencies and programs (Homeless, Migrant, Foster, etc). This eligibility cannot be conferred to other children in the household.

A child whose care and placement is the responsibility of an agency of the state. This does not apply to informal arrangements for children’s care.

A group of related or unrelated individuals living as one economic unit under one roof. All people living in the household should be listed on the application, along with their income. Women who are pregnant should complete the application with their current household size and submit a new application after their child is born and their household size increases.