{"id":83226,"date":"2025-11-03T20:11:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T20:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:18:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:18:37","slug":"dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Families of students attending Department of Defense Education Activity schools can apply for free or reduced price school meals during the shutdown, which has affected the income of many military and DOD civilian families. The eligibility is based on income and family size, as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds, until the end of the school year, said Julie Mitchell, spokesman for AAFES. Overseas, AAFES provides DOD school meal support, serving 20,000 school meals daily at 73 DOD schools in seven countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf income returns to previous levels after the shutdown, families are expected to update their application or status, but there is no automatic expiration of benefits when the shutdown ends,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents can visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furl.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com%2Fs%2FnhJoCGwk9khAQmnWuQsZuBGYYE%3Fdomain%3Dlinqconnect.com&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ckjowers%40militarytimes.com%7Cc279bdbf5122440b208d08de131ad48c%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638969203158596212%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=lKI6uG6JrdqXxQ8gnzJleMi5K5NGK%2BUNchfjO3%2BX%2FSs%3D&amp;reserved=0\" rel=\"\">linqconnect.com\/public\/meal-application\/newsubmit<\/a> and search for \u201cAAFES DoDEA\u201d to submit an application online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Information was not immediately available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the status of funding for school meals programs in the United States, where many military children attend school. However, the School Nutrition Association cited an Oct. 24 memo from the USDA stating that $23 billion in tariff funds was transferred to USDA\u2019s Child Nutrition Program accounts to carry out National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and Child and Adult Care Feeding Program during the shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That association is in close touch with the USDA and state agencies to monitor potential shutdown impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The School Nutrition Association is also encouraging its members to promote the free and reduced-price meal applications in their communities, to help federal workers and contractors affected by the furlough or recent federal reduction in force. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":110283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":83,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,83,12,25,15,68,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3343],"class_list":["post-83226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-mil-money","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pay-benefits","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IRZRF2HO4RDJ7H2EH4W4NZIDQ4","arc_canonical_url":"\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T20:11:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T16:18:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Karen Jowers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Karen Jowers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2025-11-03T20:11:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:18:37+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 286,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Mil Money\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pay &amp; Benefits\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2025-11-03T20:11:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:18:37+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/03\\\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Inside the Agencies\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"management\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pay &amp; Benefits\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"pay-benefits\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Mil Money\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/management\\\/pay-benefits\\\/mil-money\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"mil-money\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 5,\n\t                    \"name\": \"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown - Army Times","description":"Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown","og_description":"Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2025-11-03T20:11:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T16:18:37+00:00","author":"Karen Jowers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Karen Jowers","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown","datePublished":"2025-11-03T20:11:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:18:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/"},"wordCount":286,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Mil Money","News","Newsletters","Pay &amp; Benefits","Pentagon &amp; Congress","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/","name":"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-03T20:11:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:18:37+00:00","description":"Eligibility continues as long as the household income qualifies under the USDA thresholds.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/11\/03\/dodea-schools-offering-free-or-reduced-meals-amid-shutdown\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inside the Agencies","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/","ad_zone":"management"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Pay &amp; Benefits","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/","ad_zone":"pay-benefits"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Mil Money","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/","ad_zone":"mil-money"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"DODEA schools offering free or reduced meals amid shutdown"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/54876907826_43743260fa_o.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83226"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83245,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83226\/revisions\/83245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83226"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=83226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}