RIDE Announces Back-to-School Meal Benefit Application Events

Published on Friday, July 12, 2024

PROVIDENCE, RI – Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green and the Rhode Island Department of Education today announced a series of events to assist families in completing applications for free or reduced-price meals ahead of the 2024-2025 school year. Events will be held throughout July and August in communities across the state. Earlier this month, RIDE announced that free summer meals are available at sites throughout the state.

“Students learn best when they have access to consistent, nutritious meals, which is why my administration included an $813,000 investment to provide additional free meals to students in the #TeamRhodeIsland budget,” said Governor Dan McKee. “We encourage families to stop by the enrollment events, fill out the application, and head into the 2024-2025 school year prepared for another successful year.”

“Healthy nutrition plays a critical role in not only students’ growth and development, but also in their academic success,” said Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. “Students are more likely to excel in school and beyond when they are not experiencing hunger. I encourage all families to submit a Meal Benefit Application in order to get a jump start on the upcoming school year.”

Events this year are being held at various family-friendly locations, including Rhode Island state parks, libraries, the Providence Children’s Museum, and the Roger Williams Park Zoo. The Roger Williams Park Zoo offers free admission to City of Providence residents on the first Saturday of each month.

“At DEM we promote access to healthy, RI Grown foods and outdoor recreation,” said Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director Terry Gray. “We are proud to support RIDE’s efforts to increase food security for students across Rhode Island through enrollment events at our network of state parks. We hope families have a safe and fun summer enjoying the great outdoors together.”

Approximately 58% of school lunches in Rhode Island are served for free or at a reduced price. New for school year 2024-2025, the General Assembly fully funded the $813,000 #TeamRhodeIsalnd budget proposal that will provide free breakfast and lunch to the 6,500 students statewide who currently receive reduced-price school meals. Further, starting July 2024, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services will be offering SUN Bucks, also known as Summer EBT, to eligible school-age kids. The SUN Bucks program is a tool in the fight against child hunger. Families with eligible school-age children will receive $120 per child during the summer for groceries. Families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals will automatically be issued SUN Bucks benefits, so there has never been a better time to complete a Meal Benefit Application (MBA).

MBAs are sent to households in Rhode Island during the summer alongside a letter informing families of the free and reduced-price meal program. The information that a household provides is confidential and is only used to determine the benefits students will receive. Income-based applications must contain complete documentation of the requested eligibility information, including:

Names of all household members
Amount and source of income received by each household member
Last four digits of the social security number of the adult signing the application, unless they have checked the box indicating he or she does not have a social security number
Signature of adult who is certifying the information provided is correct

If all children attend school in the same district, households only need to complete one application. Many schools accept MBAs electronically online, and all schools accept paper applications returned directly to your child’s school. If families need assistance completing the form, video tutorials are available in both English and Spanish, and help sessions will also be running at various locations throughout Rhode Island during the remainder of July and August.

Additionally, a toolkit is available in partnership with the Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition (RIHSC) and RIDE Child Nutrition Programs to support district and school efforts with outreach strategies, communication templates, and meal service models to ensure all students have access to healthy meals.

Children in households that already receive Special Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or RIWorks cash assistance are automatically eligible for school meal benefits. Children who meet the definition of foster, homeless, migrant, or runaway and children enrolled in their school’s Head Start program are also eligible for free meals but must submit an MBA.

“The RI Department of Human Services is proud to be a partner in this effort to ensure healthy eating and educational performance through this outreach program being announced today,” said DHS Director Kimberly Merolla-Brito. “The more we can do to provide the best opportunities for our youth serves as an investment in long-term growth and success.”

While applications are sent out during the summer months, families can turn in their applications at any point during the school year. If a family is ineligible now, but the household income goes down, household size goes up or a member of the household starts receiving SNAP benefits or RIWorks cash assistance, they may turn in an application at that point in time. School officials may verify the information given on the application at any time during the school year. For more details about SNAP or RIWorks please visit DHS.RI.Gov.

A child’s individual eligibility status from last school year will continue into the upcoming school year for up to 30 school days, until the school processes the new application, or the child is otherwise determined to be eligible for free or reduced-price meals. After the 30 school days, the child will have to pay full price for meals unless the household receives a letter notifying them of free or reduced-price meals.

Please see the list of help session locations and corresponding event dates below:

State Parks

Beavertail State Park – Beavertail Rd., Jamestown

07/27/24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Brenton Point State Park – Ocean Dr., Newport

08/24/24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Colt State Park – Route 114, Bristol

07/20/24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lincoln Woods State Park – 2 Manchester Print Works Rd., Lincoln

08/17/24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Pulaski State Park – 151 Pulaski Rd., Chepachet

08/10/24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Libraries

Bristol Library - 525 Hope St., Bristol

07/24/24: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
08/21/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
09/03/24: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Burrillville Library – 100 Tinkham Ln., Harrisville

07/16/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
08/29/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
09/05/24: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cumberland Library – 1464 Diamond Hill Rd. #1, Cumberland

07/17/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
08/06/24: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
08/28/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

East Providence Library – 41 Grove Ave., East Providence

07/18/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
08/19/24: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
09/09/24: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Johnston Library – 1 Memorial Ave., Johnston

07/31/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
08/29/24: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
09/05/24: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Newport Library – 300 Spring St., Newport

07/25/24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
08/03/24: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
09/04/24: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

North Providence Library – 1810 Mineral Spring Ave., North Providence

07/23/24: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
08/02/24: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
08/22/24: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
09/02/24: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Other locations

Providence Children’s Museum – 100 South St., Providence

07/19/24: 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
07/29/24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
08/09/24: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
08/16/24: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
09/07/24: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
09/14/24: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Roger Williams Park Zoo – 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence

08/03/24: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
09/07/24: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

RIDE is an equal opportunity provider. For more information on the Meal Benefit Application or to download an application, visit RIDE’s Child Nutrition Programs page.

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