The steady rise in the price level affects all areas of life, including the cost of school meals. Not all parents know that there are benefits in this area, that it is possible to get a refund for the money spent by the parents on the child's meals at school.
The line of expenses of the family budget for school meals is one of the main ones. Every year breakfasts and lunches in schools become more expensive, but parents simply cannot exclude these expenses, because such a decision will negatively affect the health of the child. And, unfortunately, few people know that there are a number of benefits that make it possible not only to spend less, but also to return part of the money given for feeding a child at school.
School meals and benefits
The circle of families who have the right to receive free school meals or pay for it in part is determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation. It is the responsibility of the social protection authorities and school authorities to inform citizens that they are entitled to benefits. But very often neither one nor the other, do not consider it necessary to help parents save money, and they continue to spend the lion's share of the family's income on school lunches and breakfasts. Beneficiaries include
- large and low-income families, whose total income is below the subsistence level,
- single-parent families, guardian parents, children who have lost one or both breadwinners,
- families raising a disabled child and those where one or both parents have disabled status,
- parents who were participants in hostilities, liquidators of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, bearing the title of Hero of Russia.
In some regions, local authorities are increasing the list of beneficiaries, whose children can eat for free in the school cafeteria, who can receive a refund of money spent on this line of family expenses.
How to get money back for reduced price meals at school
In order to confirm their status of a beneficiary, the parents of a schoolchild must contact the territorial department of social protection. The specialists of the department are required to provide explanations and a complete list of documents that are needed to confirm the status and refund money for discounted school meals. At the moment, there are three types of benefits in this category:
- standard - when breakfast is free and parents pay for lunch,
- full - with free breakfast and lunch at school,
- partial - when part of the amount already paid by the parents goes to them on the card from the state budget.
The package of documents for submission to the social security authorities includes passports of parents and birth certificates of children or a child, if he is alone in the family, certificates from the place of work, confirming that the family's income is low and entitles children to preferential meals at school. In rural areas, applicants are also required to provide information about their personal subsidiary plots and land owned by the family, which are also a source of income.
Based on the information received, social protection specialists determine whether applicants belong to one of the categories of beneficiaries and to what type of compensation they are entitled. The term for consideration of the application cannot exceed 15 calendar days.
Changes in legislation in 2018 on preferential school meals
There were no significant changes in the articles of the legislation of the Russian Federation in 2018. The adjustments affected the procedure for submitting applications, its sample has slightly changed, but the package of documents and the terms for considering the application have not changed. Their list, as before, depends on the category of the beneficiary. For example, people with disabilities are required to provide medical reports and certificates confirming their belonging to one of the categories of disability.
It is possible to confirm the status of the poor not only by income certificates, but also by a conclusion or an act, which is drawn up by the class teacher or the headmaster when assessing the living conditions of the student. But those who are guardians are not required to confirm their status. A social protection specialist in charge of a specific family must remind parents themselves that, for whatever reason, they need to update the package of documents for preferential school meals.
