Compensation for meals at school. Free meals in schools: who is eligible and how to apply
Not all students in school-type educational institutions can receive subsidized meals in Russia. Let's consider how and who organizes school meals for beneficiaries, who can qualify for free meals at school, and what parents or legal representatives of children must provide to confirm the preferential category.
Also in this article you will learn how to apply for free food, how to get compensation for it - and what to do if your child is refused to be fed for free.
Types of subsidized meals at school and categories of benefit children - who is entitled to eat free?
In Russia, there are no approved federal acts and laws according to which preferential (free) meals would be provided to minor citizens. The decision about who will receive such a benefit is made at the level of local authorities, as well as by the director of the educational institution himself.
In order to find out whether a child is a beneficiary, the parent or his authorized representatives must contact the social security authorities located at the place of residence and directly the director of the school institution.
The list can be approved by local governments or school management. Social workers should know about it.
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The cost of school meals and the quality are determined by a special company that organizes school meals. But the school management is responsible for who to provide benefits to.
Reduced nutrition means free food, for which the parents or child do not pay money. There are several preferential food systems in Russia.
Let's look at them and indicate who can count on receiving benefits.
Who can apply? |
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Two-time: Or getting breakfast and lunch, Or receiving lunch and afternoon tea. |
From low-income families. From large families. Those who have lost one of their breadwinners. Having parents with disabilities of 1 or 2 groups. Those who have lost parental care. |
Three times a day: Receiving breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. |
Children studying in: Cadet corps. Boarding schools. Special type boarding schools. Correctional institutions. Educational organizations of a special educational nature in which children do not live. |
Five times: Receiving breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner. |
Students: Special correctional educational institutions with accommodation. Cadet boarding schools. State-funded residential institutions. |
Among other things, it can be determined medical indications, on the basis of which the child will have to eat free of charge at school.
This list may be supplemented with other diseases.
A complete list of documents for obtaining preferential school meals for a child
Let's consider certain categories of schoolchildren on benefits and the documentation they must provide.
Name of category of beneficiaries |
Documentation |
Children from large families. |
Parents should prepare: Application with a request to provide a child with free food. Copies of birth certificates of all children. A copy of a certificate confirming that the family is large. |
Orphans. Children left without parental care (legal representatives). Children under guardianship (trusteeship). Children from foster families. |
Legal representatives must provide: Statement. A copy of the court order or decision that confirms the appointment of a trustee or guardian. |
Disabled children. Children with disabilities. |
Parents or legal representatives prepare: Statement. A copy of your birth certificate. A copy of the child's disability certificate. |
Children with 1st or 2nd group disability. |
The parent or legal representative provides: Statement. A copy of the parent's disability certificate. |
Children from low-income families. |
The parent or representative must submit: Statement. A copy of the child's birth certificate. A copy of a document from the district social welfare department confirming that the family has received low-income status. |
Children who have lost their breadwinner. |
The child's representative must provide: Statement. A copy of the death certificate of the breadwinner. A copy of the student's birth certificate. A certificate confirming that the child has received a survivor's pension. |
Children from single-parent families. |
The parent must prepare the following documents: Statement. A copy of the child's birth certificate. A certificate from social security confirming that the family needs assistance and that it is low-income. Certificate of divorce of parents. |
The child's parents or authorized representatives must also have the main document with them - a copy of the passport. It will be needed in all of the above cases.
How to apply for free (reduced) meals at school, where to apply - instructions
To apply for a benefit, a parent, representative or authorized representative of a child must follow the following step-by-step instructions:
Step 1. Collect a documentation package to confirm the family’s preferential category. The social security authorities will tell you what you need to bring.
Step 2. Take a certificate or certificate from the social security department confirming your category.
Step 3. Prepare other papers for school. We have listed them above.
Step 4. Write a personal statement addressed to the director of the school institution.
Step 5. Submit the application and documentation to your child's secretary or class teacher.
Step 6. Wait for the commission to make a decision. A special commission will be created on the basis of the social department under the administration of your city or district to decide whether a certain citizen or his family is entitled to benefits. The period for consideration of applications is 15 days. If there is no commission, you will have to contact the school.
Step 7 The commission's decision must be communicated to the school, after which the child will be added to the list and provided with free meals.
Step 8 The decision can be made by the director of a school-type institution, then the secretary will notify the parent about this. It is unknown how long the director will consider the appeal. It’s worth finding out for yourself when the manager will make a decision.
Better Apply for Free Reduced Meals before the start of the school year, or at least at the beginning of the year. Then the child will eat free right away.
If you submit an appeal in the middle of the year, then they will make decisions about nutrition for about 1 month in order to add the child to the list for the next month.
Is it possible to receive compensation for preferential school meals in monetary terms - what is the compensation in Moscow, St. Petersburg and regions of Russia?
Families can receive compensation every month for free school meals - but then the child does not eat for free at school, and loses his right to this.
Please note , that not all regions of our country have the right to receive monetary compensation.
It’s worth checking with social security to see if you can get money instead of food in your region of the Russian Federation.
Let's consider what compensation is in large cities of Russia, who can receive it - and in what amount.
City name |
Compensation amount |
|
Saint Petersburg |
70-100 % Breakfast - 56 rub. Lunch - 98 rub. Set lunch - 154 rub. |
The citizens indicated in the list above, as well as those children who are educated at home, or under family education programs, or who have health problems. |
Moscow |
In 2018-2019, the cost of food is: Breakfast - 56 rub. Lunch - 98 rub. Afternoon snack - 50 rub. |
The list includes all citizens belonging to low-income families and who are entitled to benefits. |
Nizhny Novgorod |
The cost of food for 2018 is: Breakfast - 66 rub. Lunch - 80 rub. Afternoon snack - 30 rub. |
Children and low-income families. |
Voronezh |
The cost of food in 2018 is: Breakfast - 39 rub. Lunch - 50 rub. Afternoon snack - 25 rubles. |
Low-income, large families. |
Novosibirsk |
Subsidy in the amount of 583 rubles. |
The subsidy is provided for some children with certain diseases and medical conditions. There is no compensation for meals. |
Often in regions there is no provision for refunds for meals in schools, but assistance for free, reduced-price meals is provided to children in the form of actual breakfasts and lunches.
Remember , if refunds are made in your region, then there must be a law, act, or regulation approved at the regional level. Without a document, no one will pay compensation.
In addition, the status of the family will be taken into account, whether it falls into the category of beneficiaries.
The school refused to provide your child with free or reduced-price meals - where to go and what to do?
Citizens who were denied without reason to receive free and reduced meals in a school-type institution can prove their case in this way:
- Solve the issue at the school level. Talk to the director of the institution, find out the reason for the refusal, how you can correct the situation, where you can get help.
- Contact social security authorities. You may not have provided all the documents on the basis of which a decision is made on whether the student will receive meals. Usually you need to get a certificate or certificate from social security confirming your category and family status.
- Contact the Ministry of Education. If they refuse without reason, then feel free to go to the Education Department of your city or district, write a complaint and describe the current situation. The specialists will have to respond to you in writing to your application.
- Resolve the issue through the Prosecutor's Office. Law enforcement officials can even bring the director to task for failure to comply with regional laws. Therefore, contact the Prosecutor's Office if you know clearly about the legal acts and laws according to which your child can receive free food.
- Contact the regional Ombudsman for Children's Rights. Complete the application and submit it with all the answers from the authorities and the school regarding the solution to the issue.
The right to students to receive free meals in schools has been declared by presidential decree since 1992. However, 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 independently determine the procedure and grounds for providing 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 determining the categories of students who have the right to receive unpaid meals in schools, the procedure for its provision is regulated by regulations of self-government organizations and constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Therefore, preferential categories, as well as the list of documents required for food registration, may differ depending on a specific region. Let's look at the main categories that apply for benefits throughout the state.
Twice a day
Children from low-income families, large families, socially vulnerable families, children who are left without parental care, are in foster families or under guardianship are entitled to two unpaid meals a day in schools in accordance with the time of study - this is breakfast with lunch, or lunch with an afternoon snack, orphans, disabled or disabled. Also, all students in special correctional schools, if one parent or both are disabled people of the second and first groups and children who receive a pension associated with the loss of a breadwinner.
Three meals a day
Schoolchildren from the fifth to the eleventh grade in cadet schools and boarding schools, all students in general educational formations “School of Health”, have the right to three meals a day - a full breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack; schoolchildren of special educational institutions; all students of the cadet school; pupils of special boarding schools who do not live in the educational formation; children from general education correctional special schools and boarding schools who do not live on their territory.
Five times a day
Pupils who live in special general education correctional boarding schools and schools, cadet boarding schools and schools, and state boarding educational institutions are entitled to unpaid five meals a day - first breakfast, then second breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner.
In addition to the beneficiaries listed above, there are a number of medical reports that serve as the basis for providing schoolchildren of educational self-government institutions with unpaid meals. These include: delayed physical development due to malnutrition or delayed sexual development; diseases of the digestive organs, as well as the organs of vision of varying degrees of severity, which are registered at the dispensary; disordered behavior and mental abnormalities, various problems with cognitive functions; chronic kidney diseases – glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis; various diseases of the respiratory organs, such as bronchial asthma; blood diseases and disorders caused by chemoprophylaxis.
List of documents
To apply for free meals at school, it is necessary to prepare and collect a package of documentation for parents, providing it to the social assistance organization. The list of documents, as a rule, is independently established for a specific region, but basically what is required is: original and copies of passports of both parents, all pages completed, including notes on marital status, children and registration; originals and two copies of the children’s birth certificate; in a situation where paternity of the child has been established, the corresponding certificate must be provided; a single certificate of family composition issued at the housing department at the place of permanent registration; if there is a certificate of a large family, its original and a copy.
If in the regions, preferential meals are provided only to children of needy families, then in addition to all 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 records of both parents with you; 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 office 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. You will need to bring all the prepared documents there, and not to the social security authorities that deal with social security. Often, a normative, centralized procedure for collecting all documents is established in schools, and the collected papers are subsequently sent to social services.
Although in lately government departments are striving to replace benefits with monetary compensation, that is, to monetize them; however, children at school are still provided with meals 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 allocated to each child.
They can be fixed for both lunch and breakfast. The amount of benefits may vary depending on the financial security of the family. That is, payment may not be full, but taking into account a 30%, 50% or 70% discount 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 units should be two meals a day. However, in reality, the preferential option may involve receiving only free breakfast or lunch. Children who study in correctional institutions are provided with separate benefits and food standards. 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”
In the recording, experts talk about the rise in prices for free meals for schoolchildren in the Russian Federation.
Educating children, as is known, requires considerable expenditure not only on textbooks and office supplies, but also on lunches, which are provided for a fee. Prices are announced by the management of a particular institution, but not all parents know that certain categories of students have the right to discounted meals at school. Children in this group are entitled to payment from budget funds, although they will first need to collect a package of required papers and draw up an application for the privilege.
Legislative regulation of the issue
The content of Article 37 of the Federal Law “On Education” No. 273-FZ states that material issues regarding the organization of catering in educational institutions are assigned to their management. In turn, the rules for providing lunches and breakfasts at the expense of the regional government budget for certain categories of children are established by local governments, and not at the federal level.
Get information about which groups of students are entitled to free meals at school You can contact the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, the social security department at the child’s place of residence, or the educational institution itself. Employees will provide information regarding the benefits themselves and tell you about the procedure for applying for them.
Types of food and what benefits depend on
Children eligible for discounts and other benefits may be offered one of the following meal options:
- standard type - a child is provided with a free breakfast if lunch is paid in full;
- free breakfast and lunch - a rare type of discounted food;
- partial payment for lunch from budget funds, when the parent repays the second part of its cost.
Types of meals are offered based on the capabilities of regional authorities, or more precisely, their budget and the amount allocated per student. Additionally taken into account categories of beneficiaries, to which the student’s family is included.
For example, in one subject of the federation, a child of a disabled parent of group 1 or 2 may be given a 50% discount on food costs. Whereas in another area of the same category a different form will be offered - full payment for one day and free lunch and breakfast the next day.
Who is eligible
The Russian Federation does not have a regulatory legal act covering the issue of which students should be provided with preferential meals. Groups of citizens who are entitled to discounts are appointed by the authorities of a specific subject of the Russian Federation. At the same time, an analysis of most regional documents made it possible to identify the main categories of schoolchildren who are eligible for free lunches and breakfasts.
The list of benefit children includes:
- children from large families families where more than 3 minors are being raised;
- students left without parental care;
- disabled children and children with disabilities;
- orphans;
- children of disabled parents;
- children from low-income families, where the monthly income does not exceed the wage rate established in the region;
- schoolchildren receiving benefits due to the loss of a breadwinner;
- children of parents raising children alone.
Also, pupils of specialized institutions - cadet schools, boarding schools, and correctional educational institutions - are entitled to subsidized meals.
Registration procedure: documents, application and other points
To register a child as a beneficiary entitled to free lunches, breakfasts or discounts on food, the parent will need to go through a simple procedure. If you have any questions, you can contact the social security authorities or the school management. In this case, the first option is considered the optimal way - school directors are more willing to obey the decision of the authorized bodies, while their own verdict may not be so objective.
First of all, you will need to correctly submit your request for benefits. The application must include information on the following items:
- Application header – name of the educational institution, full name. the applicant, series and number of his passport, address and contact information.
- Identification of a request for free food.
- Who should be given the benefit? child details, including class designation.
- Grounds for receiving benefits for school lunches and breakfasts.
- List of attached papers.
- Agreement to promptly notify school management of changes regarding the family. For example, about its composition, improving the financial condition of parents and other points.
- Date of application.
- Parent's signature and its transcript.
The application is filled out at the secretary's office or in the office of the director of a general education organization, and then handed over to the latter.
Copies of papers are attached to the form in accordance with list of documents:
- student's birth certificate;
- passports of parents or one of them;
- income certificate from adult family members;
- an extract from the social security authorities about the lack of compensation for free meals at school;
- a document on family composition and a marriage certificate, if we are talking about benefits based on having many children;
- an act on the appointment of a trustee or guardian - for orphans, children from foster families and for schoolchildren left without parental care;
- a certificate confirming the child’s disability or the presence of a disease - for disabled children and children with developmental disabilities;
- certificate of disability of parents - for citizens of disability groups 1 and 2;
- an act on the child’s receipt of a survivor’s pension, if any benefit exists;
- a certificate from social security confirming the family’s “low-income” status.
Additionally, other documents may be required. The list, in accordance with each individual case, is provided in educational institutions, guardianship authorities or social security.
In addition, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will need to obtain the status of a beneficiary. In this case, before submitting an application for free food, you must complete documents and confirm the grounds for inclusion in a certain category of citizens.
Questions about benefits should be addressed in advance. The best time to submit your application and papers is in September of the new academic year.
In what cases are monetary compensations issued? What is needed for this
The benefit for a student’s school meals can be compensated, but this is practiced quite rarely and in a small number of regions. The main case is the child's education at home.
In order to receive a compensation payment in the future, you will need to indicate this point in the application for benefits. Additionally, you should notify the social security authorities of your desire. Only in this case can a refund be made, but in real life this happens extremely rarely.
Benefits for meals for schoolchildren are regulated by regional authorities and are provided only on the basis of an appropriate application and evidence confirming a certain family status. The procedure often takes a lot of time, but it is worth it - discounts on meals at school, or even free lunch and breakfast, can significantly reduce the monthly costs of a child and make the life of a parent easier.
Date: 09.09.2017
clause 2.4. Provide TWO HOT MEALS a day at the expense of the Moscow city budget to students in grades 1-11 of state educational institutions implementing basic general education programs, belonging to the category:
- - children from large families;
- - children from low-income families;
- - orphans and children left without parental care (legal representatives);
- - children under guardianship (trusteeship), children in foster families;
- - DISABLED CHILDREN and children with disabilities;
- - children with parents who are disabled in groups 1 or 2;
- - children receiving a survivor's pension.
clause 3. Make monthly compensation payments for food:
3.1. Students of state educational institutions of the city of Moscow implementing general education programs (except for boarding institutions), from the categories listed in clause 2.4 of the order:
- - those who do not eat at a state educational institution for health reasons in accordance with a medical report;
- - homeschoolers;
- - students in the form of family education;
- - students studying in general education programs at the State Educational Institution Center for Education "Teaching Technology" and included in the main contingent.
- 3.2. The amount of compensation for students of the categories listed in clause 2.4 of the order is determined:
- - based on the cost of a one-time hot meal (breakfast) - 49.0 rubles;
- - based on the cost of two hot meals a day (breakfast and lunch) for students in grades 1-4 - 142.0 rubles, for students in grades 5-11 - 151.0 rubles.
Explanation:
A disabled child has the right to TWO FREE HOT MEALS a day at school. To confirm this benefit, you must write an application addressed to the director and provide a copy of the ITU certificate confirming this benefit.
If you are required to provide additional information, find out on what legislation they are doing this. They shouldn't!
If you decide to REFUSE free meals at school, you have the right to a monthly compensation payment for meals in the amount for students in grades 1-4 - 142.0 rubles, for students in grades 5-11 - 151.0 rubles.
This payment can be used by both a child studying at home and attending school, in the second case, provided that you provide a medical certificate that the child is not eating for health reasons.
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Many adults, when sending their children to school, don’t even think about who is entitled to free meals at school in 2017, and it’s no secret that a lot of money is often spent on this. All issues related to benefits and payments and privileges for certain categories of citizens, including children, are dealt with by social care authorities, and if you think that your child is entitled to preferential meals, contact social workers. In addition, all the information you are interested in, as a rule, is available on the official websites of social services; advice from the journal Privateness will help you understand this issue.
Types of subsidized meals, and who is entitled to free meals at school
Before we talk about who is entitled to free meals at school in 2017, we should say a few words about what types of meals there are. Depending on the capabilities of a particular region and local municipality, and if the child falls into a preferential category, he will be offered three preferential meal options:
- The standard option is when the child is offered a free breakfast, but lunch must be paid in full.
- Free breakfast and lunch, but this type of reduced meal plan is not common.
- Providing benefits for paying for lunch, but in this case you will still have to pay some part of the cost of lunch.
Be that as it may, you should not ignore the opportunity to save, because the money spent on food can be used for clothes and other needs of the child. Now it’s worth figuring out who is entitled to subsidized meals:
- First of all, free school meals are provided for children from large families. In this case, we are talking about families where three or more children are growing up.
- Free school meals are also provided for the loss of a breadwinner, and this is quite justified, because raising a child alone today is extremely difficult.
- It is also practiced in all regions of Russia to provide free school meals for children of single mothers - this is one of the most common categories of beneficiaries, since women quite often give birth to children without being legally married.
- If you can prove this status, you can qualify for free school meals for low-income people, and every year, unfortunately, there are more and more such people.
Regardless of which category of beneficiaries a child belongs to, adults should know what documents are needed to apply for free meals at school. Often the process of collecting them takes a long time, but it is worth it. To get advice on this issue, you don’t even need to contact a lawyer, because explanatory work is part of the responsibilities of social workers, who must tell you what documents are needed for free meals at school.
For example, in order to receive free school meals for large families, you will need to provide copies of your parents’ documents and a marriage certificate; you will also have to collect children’s birth certificates and a certificate of family composition. Parents will also have to take an ID photo (standard photo size is 3x4 cm). A child whose mother has collected a package of documents that includes all of the above documents, with the exception of a marriage certificate, can apply for free meals at a school for children of single mothers.
The situation is somewhat more complicated with low-income Russians, who must prove that the funds they earn or receive in the form of benefits and alimony are not enough to provide food for the child. Perhaps your child falls into another category of beneficiaries, so it is worth knowing exactly who is entitled to free school meals in 2017, and, in addition to the listed categories, these may be the children of the liquidators of the Chernobyl accident, as well as children with a certain disability group