How We Qualify Kids for the #areuin? Card: Spotlight on Free & Reduced Lunch
How do we qualify kids for the #areuin? card program?
There are 3 easy ways families can apply for an #areuin? card:
With a photo of their current Free & Reduced Lunch Acceptance Letter
With a photo of their current NH Medicaid Card
Have a qualified validator (school nurse, social worker, counselor, etc.) refer them to the program
Why Free & Reduced Lunch?
When The KEY Collective was founded in 2017, Free & Reduced Lunch was the predominant qualifier into the program, because it was a straight-forward way to find need within the community, specifically in the schools. The program is income-based, and families submit their financial information to the schools each year. By using Free & Reduced Lunch as an #areuin? card qualifier, families don’t need to submit their sensitive, tedious financial paperwork to The KEY Collective, making access to out-of-school activities easier by removing red tape and social stigma.
In most of the districts we serve, families receive information about the #areuin? card program when they receive their Free & Reduced Lunch Acceptance Letter. It requires minimal effort for schools to include a letter about our program in existing family mailings, and it helps families understand that they automatically qualify for the #areuin? card program based on their approval for Free & Reduced Lunch.
Jeanne Pierce, Retired School Food Service Director for SAU 16 and founding KEY Collective Board Member, felt it was a no brainer to send families a letter about the #areuin? card program along with their Free & Reduced Lunch Acceptance Letters. “It was no extra work on my end, and it allowed us an easy way to find need within the school community without over-identifying the kids. The list of families receiving Free & Reduced Lunch in the schools is very secure and keeps the family anonymous. Sending these families letters directly kept their identities private.”
How did Medicaid become a qualifier?
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, the USDA temporarily implemented universal free school meals for all kids. At this time, we searched for alternative ways to qualify kids for the #areuin? card program, as well as reach kids who were homeschooled or did not qualify for Free & Reduced Lunch for some other reason. NH Medicaid was our solution. More on that in a future blog post!