Nutrition Services

Minnesota State legislation will provide one free breakfast and one free lunch per day to students. A second breakfast and/or a second lunch, and a la carte items will not be free. Families will need to add money to lunch accounts for students to order a la carte or a second breakfast/lunch.

• Ala Carte Milk (cold lunch): $0.50
• Ala Carte Food Prices vary by item
• Snack Milk (grade K-2 only): $0.50 daily
• Ala Carte Pricing

Adult Breakfast: $2.75
Adult Lunch: $5.00

Payments to a student's food service account can be made online, 24 hours a day, through RevTrak. If a child's food service balance is low, you can add money using a Discover, Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card. Online payments through Parent Access are immediately posted to the student's food service account. All credit card statements will show the payment has been made to the Princeton ISD 477 School District. Parents will NOT be charged a fee for this service. We also accept cash or check at each school cafeteria.

Food Service Meal Account Maintenance Policy
Food Service Meal Account Maintenance Procedure

Although no application is required to receive the MN Free School Meals Program, filling out the Application for Educational Benefits is still important!

• A new application must be submitted each year starting July 1.
• Your application also helps your household and our schools qualify for additional education funds and discounts.
• Acceda a la versión en español del formulario aquí.202425ApplicationforEducationalBenefits-Spanish.pdf

IMPORTANT: You will need to provide a copy of this letter to your school office for reduced fees where allowed in other school programs, such as activity fees. Your school office can only obtain a copy of this letter through you. When you receive your letter, please keep this letter throughout the school year.

Application for benefits are available at all times online through Skyward Parent Access (Food Service Tab), home page on District Website, in the District Office or at your child’s school’s main office. Families receiving benefits last year at any school must reapply at the beginning of this school year. Random income verification is required by the Federal Government. Call Deanna Cooley at (763) 389-6162 with any questions.

Why Apply? Click here to learn how your application helps fund programs throughout the district.

Complete an application if one or more of the following apply to your household:

• Any member of the household currently participates in any of these three programs: Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Food Support (SNAP), or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).
• One or more children in the household are foster children (a welfare agency or court has legal responsibility for the child).
• Total household income (gross earnings, not take-home pay) is at or below guidelines.

Paper Form

Section 1. Check the box if this is the first time that you have applied for meal benefits for any of your children at this school district or nonpublic school.

• List all children in the household, including foster children, and provide the requested information for each child. Birthdate, School, and Grade are not required fields.
• Foster children: check the "foster child" box for each child who is a foster child (a welfare agency or court has legal responsibility for the child). If all children who need to be approved for school meal benefits are foster children, skip sections 2 and 3.

Section 2. If any member of the household receives public assistance from any of the following three programs, provide the person's name and case number: Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Food Support (SNAP), or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). If section 2 is completed, skip section 3. A Medical Assistance number does not qualify for this purpose.

Section 3. Provide all household members and all incomes. List any regular incomes to children such as SSI payments or regular earnings. Do not list occasional earnings like babysitting. Include all adult persons who live in the household whether related or not. Also include any persons who are temporarily away, such as a student away at college.

• For earnings, list gross income before taxes and other deductions, not take home pay. You should be able to find your gross income on your pay stub. For farm/self-employment income only, list net income after business expenses. Provide how often each income is received: Weekly (W), Bi-Weekly (every other month) (BW), Twice per Month (TM), or Monthly (M). Do not Provide an hourly wage.
• Examples of "other income" to include in the last column are farm or self-employment income, Veterans (VA) benefits, and disability benefits.
• Do not include as income: foster care payments, federal education benefits, or assistance provided by MFIP, Food Support (SNAP), WIC or FDPIR. Military: Do not include income from the Military Privatized Housing Initiative or combat pay.

Section 4. The form must be signed by an adult household member. If section 3 of the application has been completed, the signer must provide the last four digits of their Social Security Number unless they indicate that they do not have a Social Security Number. Provide address and phone number to assist in processing your application.

Section 5. Leave these boxes blank if you want to share your school meal eligibility status with these health benefit/insurance programs. Check the boxes if you do not want to share your eligibility status with these programs.

Section 6. Please provide voluntary racial/ethnic information.

Students that require a special diet accommodation, a Special Diet Statement form must be filled out each school year.

• If the modification is soy or lactose free milk, a parent signature is all that is needed. 
• If the modification is anything more than milk (listed above), a doctor's signature is required. Please work on getting the form filled out now and return BEFORE the first day of school.

You may turn your forms in at open houses to Nutrition or Health Services. If you wish to discuss your modifications with the school Head Cook, they will be on site at open houses in the kitchen area. You can also email your signed forms and any questions to nutrition@isd477.org. We will make sure the proper school gets your forms.

Princeton Schools utilizes the "Offer verses Serve" method for meal service. This provision allows children to choose food items that are offered rather than requiring them to take all foods listed on the menu. Students must choose at least three of the five food categories offered at lunch. Students are required to select a minimum of a 1/2 cup fruit or vegetable with each meal. Using this method reduces unnecessary food waste, acknowledges students' independent nature and ability to choose, and allows students to try new food items without having to take the entire portion.

It has been proven that parents who discuss food choices and encourage children to eat a variety of foods have a positive impact on a child's nutrient intake.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 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.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online 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 (ASCR) 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

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

 The Minnesota Department of Education has announced the household income guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for free and reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The income guidelines are effective from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. 

Contact your school, childcare center, family childcare home or adult care center to find out whether it participates in these programs. 

Participating schools and childcare centers that charge separately for meals will provide a form upon request to apply for free or reduced-price meals. Most participating centers and all participating family childcare homes provide meals to all enrolled participants without any separate charge. 

At schools and centers that charge separately for meals, households with incomes that are less than or equal to the guidelines for free meals qualify for free meals. Households with incomes that are greater than the guidelines for free meals, but less than or equal to the guidelines for reduced-price meals, qualify for reduced-price meals. 

An application for free or reduced-price meals can be approved if it contains documentation of qualifying household income, or documentation of current participation in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) or that indicates the student is placed in foster care. Other categories in which children qualify for free or reduced-price meals that do not involve an application are: 

• Migrant; 
• Homeless; 
• Runaway; 
• A foster child; 
• Enrolled in Head Start or an eligible pre-kindergarten program; or 
• Medicaid recipient* if meeting income guidelines. 

*Medicaid case number is not a valid qualifier for free or reduced-price meals on an application for education benefits. Free or reduced-price meal benefit via a Medicaid case number must be assigned by direct certification only. Qualifying by Medicaid via direct certification is a pilot project for the 2023-2024 school year and is not guaranteed for future years. 

Participating schools and centers accept applications for free or reduced-price meals at any time during the year. A household may qualify for free or reduced-price meals due to a temporary loss of income during the year, such as a period of unemployment. An appeal procedure is available for households whose applications are denied. Information supplied on an application for free or reduced-price meals may be verified at any time. 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. For more information, view USDA’s full nondiscrimination statement. 

Related Resources:

• Free and Reduced-Price Meals Fair Hearing Procedure
• Civil Rights Complaint Procedure

The National School Lunch Act requires that the household member signing the application must provide the last four digits of their Social Security Number unless an active Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Food Support (SNAP) or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) assistance number is supplied for your child, or you are applying for a foster child, or you do not have a Social Security Number. Provision of a Social Security Number is not mandatory, but if a Social Security Number is not given or an indication is not made that the signer does not have such a number, the application cannot be approved.

We will use your information to determine if your child is eligible for free or reduced price meals, and for administration and enforcement of the lunch and breakfast programs. We may share your eligibility information with education, health, and nutrition programs to help them evaluate, fund, or determine benefits for their programs, auditors for program reviews, and law enforcement officials to help them look into violations of program rules. At public school districts, each student's eligibility status is also recorded on a statewide computer system used to report student data to the Minnesota Department of Education as required by state law. The Minnesota Department of Education uses this information to: (1) administer state and federal programs; (2) calculate compensatory revenue for public schools; and, (3) judge the quality of the state's educational program.

Sharing Information with MinnesotaCare and General Assistance Medical Care Programs

Children who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals may be eligible for Minnesota health insurance programs. Your child's eligibility status for school meals (qualified for free or reduced-price meals) may be shared with the MinnesotaCare and General Assistance Medical Care programs unless you tell us not to share your information by checking the boxes in section 5 of the application. You are not required to share information for this purpose and your decision will not affect approval for school meal benefits.