You can charge for meals OR participate in the Food Program, not both. You get the money to offset your meal costs so charging parents would be like double-dipping.
I'm Tier 1 and my 4 younger kids qualify based on the school district and our income (since we have 6 kids and both dh & I are self-employed) so my 3 kids plus the daycare kids all qualify. It's a nice chunk of change every month, that's for sure. On good months it's like $650, other slower months are more like $450. But we spend a lot on food so it just makes a dent in it for sure. I buy mostly organic and have a gluten free guy, lactose free guy, egg white free girl...
