3 ways operators are encouraging families to fill out school meal applications

Getting families to fill out free and reduced-price meal applications is a struggle for many school nutrition operators.

In a recent survey of school nutrition operators by the School Nutrition Association (SNA), 70.6% respondents said that getting families to submit free and reduced meal applications or household income forms posed a significant or moderate challenge this school year.

During the SNA’s School Nutrition Industry Conference held earlier this week in Orlando, a panel of school nutrition professionals shared their best practices for encouraging families to fill out the forms.

Here are some of the tips they shared.

1. Make it a team effort

It takes a village to get free and reduced-price applications submitted, said Lori Adkins, child nutrition consultant for Oakland Schools ISD in Waterford, Mich. She believes that school nutrition operators should not be the only department in their district trying to encourage families to fill out the forms.

Instead, she encourages school nutrition operators to explain to district leaders that the completed forms provide benefits to the district as a whole and that getting families to fill out the forms should be a district-wide initiative.

“The benefit forms help Title One and other pieces of the district in terms of funding and it helps the child,” she said. “So, I think when you clearly identify what the benefits are, and then get stakeholder support across your district, that's the best way to collect those forms.”

2. Offer a little incentive

At Jefferson County Public Schools in Jefferson County, Colo., the nutrition team has added an option on their applications that parents can select to allow the district to use their information they provided to see if they’re eligible to receive fee waivers.

For those that opt in and qualify, Executive Director of Food and Nutrition Services Beth Wallace said that parents are able to have their children’s fees waived for a wide range of school programs and activities.   

“They can get their fees waived for everything under the sun,” she said. “Everything from field trips or AP exams or SAT fees or things like that. So that is an incentive for families to fill out the free and reduced meal application.”

3. Hold a raffle

Sandra Kemp, executive director of food and nutrition services at Albuquerque Public Schools in Albuquerque, N.M., has also heard of her neighboring school districts offering incentives to encourage parents to fill out the forms.

One of the districts in her area, for example, held a raffle where parents were automatically entered to win a TV if they filled out and submitted their application.  

“You know, you got to be creative sometimes,” she said.