Back to Board Policies

To ensure that students have access to school meals and to comply with state law, the District shall  maintain a system for accounting for charged meals as follows: 

1. When a child’s account reaches the District designated minimum balance, the online mealpay system or District, as appropriate, will notify the parent.

2. When a child’s account has a negative balance, the District will commence a communication procedure with the parent to collect the balance and replenish the account.

The District will use a computer-generated point of sale system which identifies and records all meals as well as collects repayments.  

Charged meals must be counted and claimed for reimbursement on the day that the student charged (received) the meal, not the day the charge is paid back. 

If a student does not have meal money on a consistent basis, the administration will investigate the situation more closely and take action as needed. If financial hardship exists, parents/guardians (“parents”) and families will be  encouraged to apply for free or reduced-price lunches for their child if applicable. Information on free and reduced meals can be found on the District’s website: https://sites.google.com/yorktown.org/healthandwellness/food-service.

Students who cannot pay for a meal or who have unpaid meal debt shall not be publicly identified or stigmatized (including wristbands or hand stamps), required to do chores or work to pay for meals, or have meals thrown away after they have been served. District staff shall not discuss a student’s unpaid meal debt in front of other students. The District shall not take any action directed at a student to collect unpaid school meal fees.  

The District shall discreetly notify parents of students who regularly have negative balances of the application process for free and/or reduced-price meals. If a parent regularly fails to provide meal money and does not qualify for free or reduced-price meals, the District may take other actions as appropriate, including notifying the local department of social services if neglect is suspected.

Parents and students may pay for meals in advance via https://www.myschoolbucks.com or with a check payable to Yorktown Central School District.  Information is available on the District’s webpage at https://sites.google.com/yorktown.org/healthandwellness/food-service. Parents should ensure that funds are maintained in accounts. 

Low/Negative Balances

Parents shall be discreetly notified of student account balances via phone communication, written correspondence and/or email, by their child’s school administrator or designee. When a student’s account balance falls to $10.00 and whenever a meal is charged, the District will discreetly notify the parent of the balance and the process to replenish the account.

This notification will continue regularly until the account is replenished. Parents must repay all unpaid charges remaining prior to the end of the year or before their child leaves the District, whichever occurs first.

The parents of students with overdue accounts shall be notified at least quarterly about unpaid balances due the District. After three consecutive quarters, such unpaid balances may be referred to the School Attorney who shall correspond with the parents about arrangements for repayment. Interest and late-payment fees shall not be charged by the District.

For accounts with a negative balance, the District, in accordance with law, is only required to provide regular reimbursable meals to be charged, excluding extras, à la carte items, side dishes, additional meals, and snacks.

The District’s enrollment process shall include the application process for free and reduced-price meals. If the District becomes aware that a student is so eligible, it shall file an application for the student. Staff responsible for assisting foster, homeless and migrant students shall coordinate with the food services staff to ensure eligible students receive free school meals.

Remaining funds may be carried over to the next school year. When students leave the District or graduate, the District will attempt to contact the parent to return remaining funds. Parents may request that funds be transferred to other students (e.g., siblings, unpaid accounts). All transfer requests must be in writing. Unclaimed funds remaining after six months after graduation or leaving the District shall be absorbed by the school meal account.

Staff

Staff members are allowed to purchase food from the District’s food services. However, all purchases must be paid for at the point of sale, including cash and payment account. Staff members are not allowed to charge meals to be repaid later.

Principals, working with the food service provider, shall ensure that all District and food service provider staff with responsibilities under this policy will be trained on the provisions of this policy and the requirements of Education Law section 908.

Cross-ref:

8520, Free and Reduced Price Meal Services

Ref:

42 USC §1779 (Child Nutrition Act of 1966)

42 USC §§1758(f)(1); 1766(a) (National School Lunch Act)

2 CFR §200.426 (accounting for debt in federal programs)

7 CFR §§210.9 210.12; 210.19; 220.13; 245.5 (accounting in federal school meal programs)

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (Public Law 111-296), §143

USDA Report to Congress, Review of Local Policies on Meal Charges and Provision of Alternate Meals, June 2016, www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/cn/unpaidmealcharges-report.pdf

Unpaid Meal Charges: Local Meal Charge Policies, USDA FNS Memo SP 46-2016 (07/08/16), www.fns.usda.gov/unpaid-meal-charges-local-meal-charge-policies 

Unpaid Meal Charges: Guidance and Q&A, USDA FNS Memo SP 57-2016 (09/16/16), https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/cn/SP57-2016os.pdf 

Unpaid Meal Charges: Guidance and Q&A, USDA FNS Memo SP 23-2017 (03/23/17), https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/cn/SP23-2017os.pdf 

Unpaid Meal Charges: Clarification on Collection of Delinquent Meal Payments, USDA FNS Memo SP 47-2016 (07/08/16), www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/cn/SP47-2016os.pdf 

Overcoming the Unpaid Meal Challenge - Proven Strategies from Our Nation’s Schools, USDA FNS Guidance Document (May 2017), https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/cn/SP29-2017a1.pdf

Student Meal Charge Policy, NYSED Guidance Memo, (5/30/17), http://www.cn.nysed.gov/content/student-meal-charge-policy

Adoption date: August 28, 2017

Amended date: June 18, 2018

Amended date: July 9, 2018

Amended date: August 30, 2021