Army Europe K-12 PCS INBOUND Handbook PCS Handbook ARMY OUTBOUND SY17-18 | Page 19

School Lunch Accounts
 If your child will be attending a DoDEA school,* be
sure to stop by the AAFES Exchange customer service
to set up a pre-pay lunch account.
AAFES Student Meal Program Information
 You can also sign up online for My Payments Plus
which allows you to get a trigger email if your child’s
lunch account is low so they never are caught without
lunch money. Go to www.MyPaymentsPlus.com
FREE AND REDUCED
MEAL APPLICATIONS
ALL student meals are subsidized by the USDA.
The rate of support varies by qualifying category.
By participating in the free or reduced price meal
plan you increase the rate of reimbursement the
school receives from the USDA and thus save the
schools money!
Applications are completed online making the pro-
cess easy and quick! Only one annual application
per family required. Simply go to the following link
to apply .
https://freeandreducedapps.aafes.com/
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Receive confirmation of application status typi-
cally within 24 hours.
Your child ’ s lunch account is automatically up-
dated to reflect the free or reduced price status
for the remainder of the current school year.
Applications must be made annually.
3% of approved applicants are randomly select-
ed to take part in an annual verification pro-
cess.
All students including those who qualify for
free or reduced price meals need a lunch ac-
count to participate.
If you are eligible for free or reduced lunch
now and are PCSing midyear, you may wish
bring your documentation of eligibility because
eligibility is for the entire school year no mat-
ter which school the student attends. (Some
families find it easier to just reapply online,
however.).
You do NOT include housing allowance as part
of total family income when stationed in Eu-
rope. so families that don ’ t qualify stateside
may qualify in Europe.
Helpful links:
AAFES - Online Free/
Reduced application
Eligibility Guidelines
(use Alaska chart)
Eligibility Manual
USDA National School
Lunch Program
Nutrition Standards
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