Free & Reduced-Price Meals / Comida Gratis o de Precio Reducido

Free & Reduced-Price Application Instructions

  • IMPORTANT APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

    To apply for Free Milk/Meal & Reduced-Price Meals, complete and sign the application, and return it to your child’s school. Free and Reduced-Price Applications for the 2023-24 school year are now available and accepted any time after July 20, 2023. Call your child’s school if you need assistance. For translation assistance, please contact Cristina Porras, D15 Translator, at 847-963-3161.

    Households should answer all applicable questions on the form. Applications that do not contain all required information, or are unsigned, cannot be processed and approved. 

    Once an application is approved, the free milk/meal or reduced-price meals will be automatically discounted in the student’s meal account. Reduced-price meals are $0.40 for lunch and $0.30 for breakfast. Students who qualify for free milk/meal or reduced-price meals are entitled to both breakfast (if available at the school) and lunch. If a student wishes to purchase a second meal or any a la carte items, the student must have cash available or money deposited in their account in advance.

    A household’s eligibility for free milk/meals or reduced-price meals is confidential.

    If you receive a letter in mid-July to early August that you have been approved by direct certification, you DO NOT need to fill out an application for free milk/meals or reduced-price meal benefits. Otherwise, A NEW APPLICATION MUST BE FILLED OUT EVERY YEAR.


    If your child attends Frank C. Whiteley, Hunting Ridge, Lincoln, Marion Jordan, Pleasant Hill, Thomas Jefferson, Willow Bend, Plum Grove Jr High, or Walter R. Sundling Jr High, and whose household meets federal guidelines, your household may be eligible for Free Milk/Meal or Reduced-Price Meals under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast program. In addition, if your household is approved for Free Milk/Meal or Reduced-Price Meals, student fees & fines are also automatically waived.

    • Please visit the Student Fee & Fine Waiver on the District's website to learn more about how to apply for a waiver of student fees & fines based on household income.

    If your child attends Central Road, Gray M. Sanborn, Jane Addams, Kimball Hill, Lake Louise, Stuart R. Paddock, Virginia Lake, Winston Campus Elementary, Carl Sandburg Junior High, Winston Campus Junior High, or Conyers Learning Academy, DO NOT FILL OUT THIS APPLICATION as students at these schools participate in the federally funded Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. Students at these schools are offered a free breakfast and lunch daily, and no other application for free milk/meals is required.

Free & Reduced-Price Meals Applications (English & Spanish)

Free & Reduced-Price Meal Applications (Other Languages)

Translation Assistance

  • For translation assistance with Free & Reduced-Price Meal Applications, please contact Cristina Porras, D15 Translator, at 847-963-3161.