School food allowance. How to get free school meals

Some categories of the population of our country are in dire need of support. It is carried out by the social security authorities. One of the support measures is free school meals. Social security agencies are represented in every region of the country and are always open to people, as they have entire websites with specific phone numbers and addresses.

Social support employees draw up special lists, following which free meals for children are provided. Also, each school has a special position, whose responsibilities include informing parents and monitoring the compilation of a list of applicants for free meals.

Types of discounted meals

Free school meals consist of one breakfast, but it is possible to add lunch to it. What does it depend on? From the possibilities of the budget of the region and how much money is allocated for one student. There is also such an option: parents receive discounts when paying for lunch, and the student receives breakfast for free. In any case, parents will have to pay the difference between the allocated funds and the cost of food.

Categories of beneficiaries

Your child's school can provide information about who is eligible for free school meals. First of all, it is necessary for large families (3 or more children) and low-income families.

You can also apply for social assistance:

• children with disabilities;
• orphans;
• children in difficult life circumstances;
• children of the liquidators of the Chernobyl accident.

Documents for obtaining food benefits in 2018-2019

It is not enough to have many children, it is necessary to confirm this with the relevant documents in order to apply for a food allowance for your child.

So for large families, the list of required documents is as follows:

• parents' passports and child's birth certificate (original and copy);
• a certificate reflecting the composition of the family;
• Marriage certificate;
• photos of parents (3 x 4 cm), which are needed for identification.

It should be noted that the paperwork will take about ten days. Only after that, the school social worker will receive lists of children in need of free meals.

The main thing is not to miss the moment when your certificate of having many children expires, otherwise the right to eat for free is not granted to the child. If a large family is still poor, children can also receive two meals a day at a reduced price.

Documents for low-income families

For such families, the main document is a certificate, which includes the amount of income necessarily below the subsistence level. Of the documents, copies and originals of the birth certificates of children and passports of the parents themselves are also provided. But if the parents are not officially employed, they will have to contact the Employment Center, where the allowance is paid in the future. Here, if you do not work for a long time, you may not be registered and denied benefits. Then there is an option to report the amount of your income yourself so that your documents are considered.

In the event of a divorce, the parent receiving child support must provide an official statement of the amount of child support paid to him in the past three months. If the parent evades child support, the bailiff service may issue a certificate on this fact.

Parents of disabled children must present a photocopy of the disability book and a certificate indicating the expiration date of the benefit.

For schoolchildren who have lost their breadwinner, you will need a copy of a certificate confirming this fact.

Children in difficult life circumstances are a rather vague concept, so they should be discussed separately. Parents should resort to the help of the class teacher, who, having studied the whole situation and completed the necessary paperwork, will transfer the case to the guardianship authorities. If they make a positive decision, then the child is granted a food allowance for a period of one year.

Financial assistance to certain categories of citizens is provided for many reasons in different forms. These are subsidies, and, and other types of state-appointed support. Such assistance also exists in the field of school meals. Lunches and breakfasts are provided for children of families of certain categories. Who exactly is entitled to such assistance in the next academic year and what documents are needed in order to issue it?

Types of free school meals

How much money is spent on unpaid food for children in schools, and who regulates the distribution of funds on this issue, is established in the Federal Law. It passes under the number 273-F3. The fourth paragraph states that free meals in schools are organized at the expense of revenues from regional budgets. The right to control and regulate this process is shifted to the management of these regions. And the food itself, its composition and the requirements that are put forward for it, are regulated by general sanitary standards. Violation of them will result in severe penalties.

There are several types of free meals. What type operates in a certain territory depends on what budget the regional administration has allocated for social needs.

• Breakfast is provided at the expense of the budget.
• The budget guarantees certain discounts on the payment of lunches and breakfasts in schools.
• The Regional Office guarantees each student both a free breakfast and a free lunch.

Important fact

The legislation separately singles out families that fall under the category of low-income or unprotected families. For them, both breakfasts and lunches are free, regardless of what type of reduced-price meals operates in the region.

Who is entitled to reduced-price meals in schools

It should be noted that the legislation does not establish exact lists of categories of children who are eligible for preferential food conditions. Such lists are established at the regional level and, depending on the territory, can vary quite a lot. But, if we conduct a small study, we can note the most frequently mentioned categories of citizens who are entitled to free meals in schools:

You can find out which categories of citizens fall under the reduced-price meal program from the administration of the educational institution. Also, such subsidies can be assigned to a family that does not fall under any of the categories, but finds itself in a difficult financial situation. To do this, it is necessary to officially notify the school management and indicate exactly what factors led to the fact that now it is not possible to pay for the child's food in full. The decision for each such situation is made on an individual basis. And such a benefit, in the above case, cannot last longer than one academic year.

How to apply for a school meal allowance

This benefit, like any other type of financial assistance, does not automatically take effect. The fact that the family is entitled to such a subsidy must be notified to the relevant authorities by sending the necessary package of documents there. The deadlines during which people have the right to apply for free meals are set at the regional level. But in the vast majority of cases, they last from the beginning of the school year until the end of May.

It is worth noting the case when a family receives the status of a large family in the middle of the year. In this case, documents can be submitted at the time of inclusion in this category, and food benefits will take effect from the beginning of the next month.

In order to apply for free meals, parents must provide the school administration with the following documents:

• An application that is drawn up for the director of an educational institution. In it, you need to notify him of the right to arrange free meals.
• A certificate that provides complete information about the current composition of the family.
• , confirming the birth of the child and his relationship with the applicant.
• Copy of identification cards of the applicant parents or guardians.

Depending on which category the family applying for benefits falls into, the following papers may also be needed:

The entire list of documents that need to be provided to the school administration for free meals can be found in the administration of the educational institution.

According to the Federal Law “On Education”, the procedure for feeding children in schools is entrusted to the school institutions themselves. There are nutritional standards, as well as sanitary ones, which must be fully observed. However, the law on education in 2017-2018 does not regulate the rate of payment for children's meals.

At the moment, in the Russian Federation there are no regulatory legal acts establishing a list of children entitled to free meals at school. This issue is considered at the regional level and is established individually in each subject of the Russian Federation. In order to find out who can eat for free at school, you will need to familiarize yourself with local legislation. However, there are general criteria by which it is determined who can receive free meals in schools. These include such categories of children as:

1. Children from low-income families.
2. Children whose parents have the first or second group of disabilities.
3. Orphans and children under guardianship.

In addition, children studying in specialized schools receive free meals, as well as children who have the right to receive free meals for medical reasons. It can be, as the presence of a mental illness, chronic diseases of the kidneys, blood, breathing, vision, diseases requiring chemotherapy, and so on.

Also, children who have lost one of their parents and receive a survivor's pension are entitled to receive free meals.

It should be remembered that there are two types of school meal benefits - this is completely free and discounts on payment.

Get benefits and where to apply

The right to receive free school meals for students has been declared by presidential decree since 1992. At the same time, the procedure for obtaining and providing such benefits at the national level is not prescribed. Social security is under the competence of the regional and federal levels of government. Therefore, now they determine independently the procedure and grounds for granting benefits. But in practice, this means that each region or region of Russia regulates social security issues individually, that is, the type of free food and the list of documents required to obtain it depends on the place of residence.

Since at the moment there is no generally accepted norm in the state that allows you to determine the categories of students who have the right to receive unpaid meals in schools, the procedure for providing it is regulated by a normative act of self-governing organizations and subjects of the Russian Federation. Therefore, preferential categories, as well as the list of documents required for food processing, in accordance with a particular region, may differ. Consider the main categories claiming benefits throughout the state.

two-time

For two meals a day, unpaid meals in schools in accordance with the time of study - this is breakfast with lunch, or lunch with an afternoon snack, children from low-income families, large families, socially unprotected, children who are left without parental care, are in foster families or under guardianship, orphans, the disabled or those with disabilities. Also, all students in special correctional schools, if one parent or both are disabled of the second and first groups and children who receive a pension associated with the loss of a breadwinner.

three times a day

For three meals a day - a full breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, schoolchildren from the fifth to the eleventh grade in cadet schools and boarding schools, all students in the general educational formations "School of Health" have the right; schoolchildren of special educational institutions; all pupils of the cadet school; pupils of special boarding schools who do not live in an educational formation; children from general education correctional special schools and boarding schools who do not live on their territory.

Five times a day

For unpaid five meals a day - the first breakfast, then second breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner, students who live in special general education correctional boarding schools and schools, cadet boarding schools and schools, in state boarding schools are entitled.

In addition to the beneficiaries listed above, there are a number of medical reports that serve as the basis for providing schoolchildren with educational self-government institutions of unpaid meals. These include: delayed physical development with malnutrition or slowing of sexual development; diseases of the digestive organs, as well as the organs of vision of varying severity, which are on dispensary records; disordered behavior and mental deviations, various malfunctions of cognitive functions; chronic kidney disease - glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis; various diseases of the respiratory organs, such as bronchial asthma; blood diseases and disorders caused by chemoprophylaxis.

List of documents

To arrange free meals at the school, it is necessary to prepare and collect a package of documentation for parents, providing it to a social assistance organization. The list of documents, as a rule, is independently established for a particular region, but basically the following is required: the original and copies of the passports of both parents, all pages filled out, including a note on marital status, children and registration; originals and two copies of the birth certificate of children, in the situation where paternity was established for the child, it is required to provide an appropriate certificate; issued in the housing department at the place of permanent residence in a single version, a certificate of family composition; if there is a certificate of a large family, its original and a copy.

If in the regions subsidized meals are provided only to children of needy families, then in addition to all of the above documents, parents must bring a certificate of income from their actual place of work for the last 5-7 months. It is also advisable to have work books of both parents with you; a document on the education of the parent, if he has never worked anywhere; a copy of the certificate of entrepreneurial activity and information from the tax on income for the last 2-3 months, if one or both parents are private entrepreneurs.
As a rule, you can find out a more specific list of all the necessary papers directly at the school where the child is studying from his class teacher or social teacher. It will also be necessary to bring all the prepared documents there, and not to the social security authorities that are engaged in social security. Often, a normative, centralized procedure for collecting all documents is established just in schools, and the collected papers are subsequently sent to the social security.

Although recently state divisions have been striving to replace benefits with monetary compensation, that is, to monetize them, nevertheless, meals at school are still provided to children in kind to minimize various misunderstandings. The authorities of a particular region set the amount of the amount, the scope of which regulates the school meals due to each child.

They can be fixed for both lunch and breakfast. The amount of benefits may vary, based on the financial security of the family. That is, payment may not be complete, but taking into account 30%, 50% or 70% discounts from the estimated cost. Part of the amount that remains in such cases is paid by the parents or the board of trustees.

According to the generally established rule, meals in training formations should be two meals a day. However, in reality, a preferential option may involve receiving only a free breakfast or lunch. Children who study in correctional institutions are provided with separate benefits and food norms. The provision of free fermented milk products to primary school students should not be confused with a similar benefit. In most regions, they are provided to all children, regardless of the status of a large family.

Video "Free lunches for schoolchildren"

On the record, experts talk about the rise in prices for free meals for schoolchildren in the Russian Federation.

For families with a large number of children, the state is trying to create a favorable environment and provide additional support. One of these privileges is that free meals are provided to children from large families at the school. In order to exercise this right, parents collect documents and write an application according to the established model. Depending on the circumstances, different types of meals are provided, paid from the budget in full or in part.

The legislative framework

The federal law "On State Support for Large Families" was adopted on November 17, 1999. Its essence is targeted assistance to families in need of support from the state. Article 4 of this legislative act speaks of the provision of free hot meals to schoolchildren at the place of study.

The main law governing education in Russia is the Federal Law “On Education”. Chapter 4 of Article 37, paragraph 1 states that catering is entrusted to the educational institution.

There are no federal criteria for who is required to receive free school meals. Each region has its own rules. In general, children from the following categories receive breakfast and lunch at the expense of the budget:

1. Orphans.
2. Children from large families, including those under guardianship.
3. Children from incomplete families who receive a survivor's pension.
4. Children with disabilities or with limited mental and (or) physical abilities.
5. Children from families with low incomes, recognized as poor.
6. If the parents are disabled 1 or 2 groups.
7. Students of correctional educational institutions.
8. Children whose parents have a certificate of liquidator of the Chernobyl accident.

The status of having many children depends on many circumstances, as well as the number of benefits that it provides. Depending on the region, the conditions under which it is installed may vary. In Moscow, a family with three children is considered to have many children, and in Krasnoyarsk, at least 5 children must be brought up. There is often a requirement that children be adopted if they are adopted rather than being in foster care. Age requirement: under 18 years old. Sometimes up to 23 years, if the child is studying full-time.

The status is assigned and the certificate is issued by the social security authority at the place of residence of the family. If there is an MFC in the locality, then you can apply there as well. Another possibility is to use the State Services portal. In any case, you will need to collect a number of documents:

• statement;
• papers confirming the identity of the parents;
• documents for children - birth certificates for each;
• information about family status - marriage certificate or divorce;
• confirmation that the child is studying full-time;
• a certificate that such a certificate was not issued to the parent before.

Who provides benefits

The provision of preferential meals is entrusted to the regional authorities. Children from a large family will be fully provided with food at the expense of the budget or partially, depending on the possibilities of the local budget. If only partially free meals are provided, then the parents will compensate for the rest. Sometimes they fully pay for children's meals, and after that they are compensated for the expenses incurred.

In some cases, opportunities are being sought for additional sources of funding for school meals for children from large families. If an educational state institution teaches programs related to defense, state security, and so on, then the standard by which meals are provided in these institutions is assigned to the founders of the educational institution.

Food types. What does it depend on

Depending on the mode of operation of the educational institution, various meal options may be installed. Children from large families eat at school like this:

1. Only one meal is served for breakfast or lunch.
2. They feed twice. The first shift is breakfast and lunch, and the second, if there is one, lunch and afternoon tea.
3. They feed three times. An afternoon snack is added to lunch and breakfast.
4. In specialized establishments, they can feed five or six times.

The option of preferential meals that will be provided to the child in an educational institution depends on the funding of the regions in each individual year. One of the following options can be selected:

1. Breakfast will be provided on a budget.
2. Both breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge.
3. Meals will be only partially free. The percentage of compensation in each region is different.

Free lunches for children from low-income families, large families and other preferential categories are provided only after writing the relevant application and submitting a complete package of papers.

What documents are needed. How to write an application

What documents are needed for free school meals for the poor, large families and other privileged categories of citizens? Discounted meals are provided in the month following the application. Therefore, if you want your child to be provided with free meals since September, then you will have to take care of the paperwork in May. In addition to the application, the standard package of documents includes the following papers:

• a copy of the applicant's passport;
• birth certificate of the child;
• information about the composition of the family.

Some additional documents from the following list may be requested:

• certificate of large families;
• custody documents if the child is adopted;
• family income statement;
• confirmation from social security that the family does not receive compensation for the children's meals;
• documents on the state of health of the student, if he has a disability.

Usually, the educational institution provides a sample application, on the basis of which the parent submits the petition. If there is no such form, then the application is written arbitrarily, but some mandatory items must be included in it.

1. An application for free school meals for children from large families is written in the name of the school principal.
2. The personal information about the applicant is indicated.
3. The benefit is specified, on the basis of which the child's food should be free.
4. Describes the list of documents that is attached to the application.

The school administration considers the received appeal, and the family is offered a benefit option. Perhaps this will be a partial compensation for food, and not a completely budgetary option for providing a child with food during the educational process.

In some cases, the family is denied provision. This may be the case if the family income is above the established minimum, or referring to the fact that the school has already been financed from the budget for the current year. In the second case, the refusal is not legitimate. There is a reserve fund to which the school must apply for additional funds due to new circumstances.

But it is not always necessary to apply to the school with an application, since free meals are a benefit provided to certain categories of citizens, then another organization that can resolve this issue is the social protection authorities.

The package of documents includes an application for free meals for children from large families, a sample of which may look like this.

In the header of the document, you should indicate the head of the organization and your own data. The main part describes information about where the child is studying, for how long he needs free meals, on what basis this should be done. A list of additional documents is given. The application is endorsed by the parent and the date of its compilation is put.

The social security authorities need 10 days to verify the information specified in the application and the submitted documents. After that, the inspector will receive lists of children who are entitled to the benefit, and it will begin to operate.

There are situations when a family temporarily finds itself in difficult life circumstances and cannot pay for food. In this case, the procedure is as follows: the mother or father contacts the school with an explanation of the reasons for non-payment of meals. An act of examination of the living conditions of children is drawn up, and the document is sent to the guardianship authorities. In turn, this organization can decide to provide food at the expense of the budget. If the decision is positive, then it is sent to the director of the educational institution. The support measure is temporary, usually until the end of the current academic year.

Financial compensation

Sometimes children are homeschooled for various reasons. In this case, food can be compensated for them. Usually this is an additional payment to the existing monthly payment from the state. The amounts are indexed annually and the laws are reviewed. For example, amendments to Art. 14 of the Law of the Czech Republic “On Education in the Chuvash Republic” dated July 30, 2013 No. 50. The draft law was prepared in order to provide schoolchildren from low-income families of the Chuvash Republic with free meals.