Meal Benefits

For meal benefits questions, call 503.356.3957 or email: NS-MealBenefits@beaverton.k12.or.us

Families can apply for Free and Reduced Price Meals ONLINE!

The process is SAFE, SECURE, PRIVATE, and available through SchoolCafe.com.

All students who qualify for free or reduced price meals receive breakfast and lunch meals free of charge. Instructions on completing and submitting your application are provided below. Please contact  Laurie Bishop, Meal Benefits Coordinator, at 503-356-3957, if you have questions or need additional assistance.

Meal Application Process

Submitting Applications Before the School Year Begins

We encourage all eligible families to submit a new application for free and reduced price meals prior to the start of each new school year. This allows the application to be processed and the correct eligibility established before school starts. Families have the ability to fill out the Free and Reduced Price Meal Application online at www.schoolcafe.com. Copies of applications will also be available at every school office.

Mail completed applications to:

Applications can also be emailed to NS-MealBenefits@beaverton.k12.or.us. 

Submitting Applications After the School Year Begins

Applications are accepted anytime throughout the school year and can be submitted to your student's lunchroom, mailed to Nutrition Services, or filled on line.

Additional Information

• Proof of Eligibility: The information you provide may be verified at any time. You may be asked to send information to prove your student is eligible to receive free and reduced priced meals
• Hearing on Decision: If you do not agree with the decision on your student's application or the process used to prove income eligibility, you may talk with Charity Ralls, the fair hearing official. You have the right to a fair hearing which may be arranged by calling or writing Laurie Bishop,Nutrition Services Department 10740 NE Walker Rd. Entrance D1, Hillsboro, OR 97006 Telephone 503.356.3957.
• Reapplying for Benefits: You may apply for benefits any time during the school year. If you should have a decrease in household income, an increase in household size, or become unemployed, or receive basic food, FDPIR or TANF, you may be eligible for benefits and may fill out an application at that time.
• Meal benefits eligibility letter: If you applied through schoolcafe.com, your letter will be in the schoolcafe.com dashboard, under eligibility benefits. You can also request a letter at 503.356.3957.

Other Benefits

If your student qualifies for free or reduced price meals, discounted or free school services may also be available. Ask your schoolfor more information about benefits available at your school.  Benefits vary from school to school.  Please fill out the Permission to Share Form so we can share your information with other school programs. Benefits may include:

• Athletic Fees
• Event Fees
• Medical, Dental and Vision
• Comcast Internet Essentials
• Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District

Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:(1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;(2) Fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) E-mail: program.intake@usda.gov.

2020-2021 

Meal Charging Policy

(Click here for Spanish)

Oregon House Bill 3454 specifies that when a student requests a reimbursable meal during meal service, they shall receive a meal regardless of the ability to pay for meals. A reimbursable meal consists of at least three (3) components from the five (5) following food groups; Meat/Meat Alternate, Grain, Vegetable, Fruit and Fluid Milk. A student must take a minimum of 3 components from the 5 options, and one of the components must be at least 1/2 cup of fruit or vegetable. For clarification purposes, the cost or accrued balances of received meals are the responsibility of the parent or guardian.

• Due to provisions in Oregon law, the district is unable to establish a charging limit for all accounts.
• Students who are without funds will be allowed to charge meals, unless the student’s parent or guardian has provided written permission to withhold a meal from the student to reduce the amount of that student’s debt.
• Beaverton School District will not publicly identify a student who cannot pay for a meal because of a negative balance. We will provide a student their balance only if they inquire.
• Students will not be allowed to charge a la carte menu items. (Including a carton of milk.)
• Adults cannot charge meals or a la carte items.

Account Management and Negative Balance Notifications:

          Balance Inquiry

• Parents/ Guardians/Students can inquire directly with the cafeteria staff about their account balances.
• Parents/Guardians/ Students can see their students’ balance, create alerts and use the auto pay feature by signing up for a free SchoolCafé account. Please visit: https://www.schoolcafe.com/register

          Account Payments

• Prepayments at school - cash or check are accepted in the school cafeteria.  Receipts are provided upon request. 
• Prepayments online – SchoolCafé can be used for online payments.  There is a small fee for using SchoolCafé to make deposits.

Negative Balance Notification

• Automated phone calls and/or emails generated by the school district’s “School Messenger” system. To sign up for School Messenger, please go to:  https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/public-safety/schoolmessenger
• Letter(s) to the parent or guardian.
• Phone calls from the Nutrition Services (NS) department.

End of Year Student Account Balances

Student account balances (positive and negative), automatically roll over to the following school year. If a student has funds and no longer attends Beaverton School District, families can do the following:

• Request a refund check. NOTE: Refund checks may take up to 3-4 weeks to process.
• Request the funds be transferred to a sibling's student meal account.
• Request the funds be donated to pay off negative balances.  Donations can be made to specific students, schools or where needed most. 

PANDEMIC ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANSFER (P-EBT)

P-EBT is money provided by the state of Oregon to families whose children qualify for free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch (Meal Benefits). Click on this link for more information (FAQ link) and review this page for next steps.

ALL students and children ages 1-18 will continue to receive free meals (FOOD) through June 30, 2021 regardless of Meal Benefits eligibility. If you wish to receive MONEY in addition to food, be sure your family qualifies for Meal Benefits as outlined here.

If you wish to be considered for P-EBT money, now is the time to get ready.

1)    Be sure your child’s school has your current guardian information and correct mailing address. To update your address, go to ParentVue 
 (https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/information-technology/parentvue-studentvue) 
or contact your child’s school office. You must separately contact each school where you have a student to update records.

2)    Get your students qualified for Meal Benefits. If you are not sure if you need to apply, keep reading.

Families who meet the following criteria do not need to apply for meal benefits and will 
automatically be eligible for Pandemic EBT:

     •     Families who have already received a Meal Benefits approval letter for the 2020-2021 school 
           year do not need to re-apply.

     •     Families receiving SNAP, TANF, Migrant or Homeless benefits do not need to apply.

     •     Students enrolled in Community Eligibility Schools (CEP) do not need to apply.

Click on this link if you wish to apply for Meal Benefits online: www.schoolcafe.com

If you are unable to apply online, you can pick up a paper application at any meal serving site or 
request an application from:

Meal Benefits Office (503)356-3957 NS-MealBenefits@beaverton.k12.or.us

The Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs will soon be requesting data from schools to confirm eligibility for P-EBT funds. There is currently no timeline for when P-EBT funds may be distributed.

For more information, check our list of Frequently Asked Questions here: FAQs