CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Clay County District Schools announced its policy for free and reduced-price meals for the 2026-2027 school year, outlining new meal prices and application requirements.
The policy details that while some schools will provide free meals without an application, others will require families to submit an application to receive benefits.
The new meal prices for the 2026-2027 school year are $3.00 for elementary lunch, $3.25 for secondary lunch and $2.00 for breakfast across all grade levels.
Reduced-price meals will cost $0.40 for lunch and $0.30 for breakfast.
Children attending a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school will receive both breakfast and lunch free of charge without needing to complete an application.
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For students at non-CEP schools, a free and reduced-price meal application must be completed to determine eligibility.
Applications are available both online through the Clay County District School’s website and as paper copies sent home at the beginning of the school year.
Households must complete either an online or paper application and return it to the school or the Food and Nutrition Services Office. The information provided will be used to determine eligibility and may be verified at any time during the school year.
Eligibility for free or reduced-price meals is determined by household size and income criteria. Applications cannot be approved without complete eligibility information. Once approved, meal benefits are valid for an entire year.
Households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits only need to list the child’s name, a valid Florida SNAP/TANF case number and the signature of an adult household member on the application.
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Foster children will automatically receive free meal benefits, irrespective of their personal income or the income of their household. Households with children identified as migrants, homeless or runaways should contact the district liaison at (904)336-1346 or the migrant coordinator at (352)955-6855 for assistance.
For the purpose of determining household size, deployed service members are considered part of the household and their names should be included on applications. Only the portion of their income made available to the family should be reported and housing allowances from the Military Housing Privatization Initiative are not to be included as income.
All other households must provide the total gross amount and type of income received by each household member, along with the frequency of receipt. They must also list the names of all household members, checking “no income” if applicable and include the school name for each child.
An adult household member must sign, certifying the information is correct and provide the last four digits of their Social Security number or write “NONE” if they do not have one.
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The schools participating in CEP for the 2026-2027 school year are: AMI Kids, Bannerman Learning Center, Charles E. Bennett Elementary, Coppergate Elementary, Clay Hill Elementary, Doctors Inlet Elementary, Grove Park Elementary, Keystone Heights Elementary, Keystone Heights High School, Lakeside Elementary, McRae Elementary, Middleburg Elementary, Montclair Elementary, Orange Park High, Orange Park Junior High, Ridgeview Elementary, S. Bryan Jennings Elementary, W.E. Cherry Elementary, Wilkinson Elementary and Wilkinson Junior High.
Applications for free and reduced-price meals can be submitted at any time during the year. Once approved, meal benefits are valid for the entire school year.
If a household member becomes unemployed or if household size changes after a previous denial or approval for reduced meals, the Food and Nutrition Services Department should be contacted.
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