Every family, every year. We ask that ALL families with children enrolled with Robbinsdale Area Schools complete an Application for Educational Benefits each year. It’s quick and easy.

Apply now

Information provided on Educational Benefits Applications:

• Provides critical education funding for Robbinsdale Area Schools. 

• Determines benefits for students and their families such as reduced Chromebook insurance fees and discounted internet service. 

Please note, school meals are free of charge for all students for the 2021-2022 school year due to a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, it is still important to fill out the Application for Educational Benefits.

The Application for Educational Benefits (formerly known as Free and Reduced) can be completed at TITAN K-12 Family Portal.

1. Visit TITAN K-12 Family Portal.

2. Click on Apply for Meals Today (log in not required).

3. Follow the instructions to complete your online application.

An eligibility notice letter will be sent out via USPS mail or email within 10 business days. 

If you would like a paper copy of the application for educational benefits, available in English, Spanish, and Somali, or if you have questions, please call Lori Opitz at 763-504-8050 or email at lori_opitz@rdale.org.

Additional Educational Benefit Application Information

• Families should fill out a new application every year.

• The Application for Educational Benefits used to be called the “free and reduced lunch” form.

• Educational Benefit thresholds are higher than in some programs, so many families are surprised to find they do qualify. 

School meals are free of charge for all students for the 2021-2022 school year due to a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

Breakfast: All of our schools will be offering free grab and go breakfast for students as they enter school each morning. 

Lunch: Students will have access to free school lunch. Our lunches are packed with student favorites like mandarin orange chicken as well as plenty of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and choice of milk.

• You can view menus online through the TITAN K-12 Family Portal. 

Adult Breakfast - $2.10

Adult Lunch - $4.20

 

The The TITAN Family portal is a secure, online system that allows parents to:

• Make an online payment to their children’s cafeteria meal accounts

• Remotely monitor their children’s accounts

• Set up automatic recurring payments

• Set up low balance e-mail message alerts

• And submit an online application for free and/or reduced meals

To add money to an account is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Register at family.titank12.com by clicking on Sign up today!

2. Confirm your email address by clicking on the email verification link sent to your email address.

3. Now you can sign in at family.titank12.com using your email and password. 

For more information, check out the Titan FAQs in English and Spanish OR call Lori Opitz at 763-504-8050 or email at lori_opitz@rdale.org.

School meals offer students milk, fruit and vegetables, proteins and grains, and must meet strict limits on saturated fat and portion size. School lunches meet standards requiring:

• Age-appropriate calorie limits
• Larger servings of vegetables, including dark green, red/orange vegetables and legumes
• Fat-free or 1% milk
• More whole grains
• Less sodium

We know how important it is to encourage students to consume healthier options. We're always working to offer our students tastier and healthier choices. We have been working on some new and improved scratch recipes over the past year. We host student taste tests to get feedback directly from students and get them involved in the menu planning process. A daily entree salad will continue to be offered at the schools due to their success. Our school nutrition staff has found great ways to get students excited about healthy food choices and we'll continue to work on creative solutions to ensure healthy foods appeal to students.
 

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

(1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410

(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or

(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov

Families who have students with special dietary needs should contact the school nurse and Nutrition Services Manager at their school. Accommodations will be made whenever possible. Additionally, Robbinsdale Nutrition Services makes reasonable substitutions to meals on a case-by-case basis for students who are considered to have a disability which restricts their diet.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), most physical and mental impairments will constitute a disability. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 made important changes to the term disability to include any person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including major bodily functions. Major bodily functions include but are not limited to: functions of the immune system, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive systems.

Robbinsdale Nutrition Services is not required to accommodate special dietary requests that do not constitute a disability, including requests related to religious or moral convictions or personal preference.

To request a special diet for your student,  the Special Diet Request form must be completed by a licensed physician, physician assistant or certified nurse practitioner. If asking for a food to be omitted and substituted, please make sure numbers 1, 2 and 3 are complete or we cannot accept the form.

Drop off or mail completed forms to the Education Service Center, Attn: Brie Smith, 4148 Winnetka Ave. N, New Hope, MN 55427. Forms can also be faxed to 763-504-8971, Attn: Brie Smith.
 

Milk Substitutions

MN State Statute 124D.114 requires schools to provide one of these alternatives for a student with lactose intolerance if the parent has requested an alternative, in writing:

• Lactose reduced milk, lactose free milk or soy milk meeting specific guidelines
• Milk fortified with lactase in liquid, tablet, granular, or other form
• Milk to which lactobacillus acidophilus has been added

Juice or water cannot replace milk in the National School Lunch Program. 

For more information, please see the Minnesota Department of Education's website. If you have any questions, please call our Nutrition Services Assistant Director, Brie Smith, at 763-504-8048.

Lactose-intolerant Students

A lactose-reduced milk; milk fortified with lactase in liquid, tablet, granules or other form; or milk to which lactabacillus acidophilus has been added must be provided for lactose-intolerant students upon written request of parent or guardian.

Robbinsdale Area Schools is participating in the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Harvest of the Month in Minnesota and the Farm to School Full Tray Grant for the 2021-2022 school year. We love it when our students can try the best of Minnesota grown and produced foods and think it's important to support our local Minnesota growers and producers. Throughout the school year students will have the opportunity to try new, local foods on the line and through taste tests. 

To learn more about our ongoing taste tests and local producers, please visit our “What’s Local on the Lunch Line” Toolkit.