Meal Charges
The following procedures establish a consistent process for charging meals when students do not have money to pay, minimizing the identification of children who do not have money to pay, preventing meal charges, and collecting on unpaid meal charges. Such a procedure ensures that Food Services staff, school administrators, families, and students have a shared understanding of expectations in these situations.
Charging Meals
Any child who requests a meal will be served a fully reimbursable meal from the daily menu that meets the USDA’s nutrition standards for school meals. Children are allowed to charge meals to their account even when an unpaid balance is on the account. No ala carte charges will be allowed for any grade. Adult meals cannot be charged.
Children who have money to pay for a reduced-price or full price meal at the time of service must be provided a meal. The money may not be used to repay previously unpaid charges if the child intended to use the money to purchase that day’s meal.
Protecting Children’s Confidentiality
Meridian School District strives to serve each child with dignity and respect. Hand stamps, stickers or any other means of overt identification of children with unpaid meal debt in the cafeteria or the classroom are prohibited. Additionally, children with unpaid meal debt shall not be required to work off their debt, including, but not limited to, wiping down tables or cleaning the cafeteria.
All communication regarding unpaid meal debt will be directed to parents or guardians. The Food Service Director may send a letter home with children in an unmarked envelope. Notification may also be by email or phone call to the parent or guardian. If a child asks about his or her meal account balance, Food Services staff will communicate with the child discreetly.
Preventing Meal Charges
To prevent meal charges, the Food Services program will:
•Notify families of low account balances; and
•Ensure that all eligible families are certified for free and reduced-price school meals by:
•Providing all households with school meal applications prior to the start of the schoolyear;
•Households with questions or who need assistance with completing an applicationmay contact the Food Services Director at (360) 318-2267, the district Migrant/ELLliaison at (360) 306-2886, or the district Foster/Homeless liaison at (360) 318-2486;
•Regularly utilizing data provided by the state or other school district officials tocertify eligible children without an application;
•Making efforts to directly certify a child for free or reduced-price meals through thestate when their household has unpaid meal fees. If the school district is unable todirectly certify the child, the district will contact the family by phone and/or inwriting to encourage completion of the school meal application; and
•Completing a school meal application for any child known to be eligible for free orreduced-price school meals if the household fails to apply.
Notifying Households of Low and Negative Account Balances
Food Services will use the district’s automated communications system to notify parents of negative and low account balances. Food Services staff may send a negative account balance statement home in an unmarked white envelope with the child’s name.
Collecting Unpaid Meal Debt
Any household not certified for free school meals with a negative school meal account balance will be contacted promptly by school Food Services staff by email, phone, or letter home about their negative
balance. The Food Services program will work with principals, school counselors, and/or teachers to understand the child and parent’s situation and work with families on a case-by-case basis.
For households that cannot afford to pay their school meal charges, food services will work with them to establish a payment plan. Households that are certified for free or reduced-price school meals at a point later in the school year will be asked to, but not required to repay school meal debt accrued earlier in that school year. Any debt that is not repaid by households that are certified for free or reduced meals will be forgiven in the fall of the following school year.
Donations and Uncollectable Debt
Private donations to offset unpaid student meal debts will be accepted by the district through the standard donations process. The district welcomes families to donate excess funds left in their child’s Food Services account, except in the case of households approved for reduced-priced meal benefits whose accounts must be refunded per federal requirements
Each fall, the school district will support children participating in the school meal program by paying the balance of uncollectable accounts (“bad debt”) from the previous school year using donations and/or other non-federal funds (e.g. general fund). An account is deemed uncollectable if the child has incurred charges and is certified for free or reduced-priced meals or all attempts to collect have been unsuccessful and/or the child is no longer a student in the district.
Adoption Date: 11/02/22