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1 Welcome! Check your audio connection to be sure your speakers are on and the volume is up. Archive recording, presentation slides, resources, and CEU form are available at:

2 Resolving Unpaid Meal Charges Wednesday, October 1, 2014 Copyright 2013 School Nutrition Association. All Rights Reserved.

3 Today s Moderator Nadia Egziabher Child Nutrition and Policy Coordinator School Nutrition Association Copyright 2013 School Nutrition Association. All Rights Reserved.

4 Questions & Answers Type your questions into the Question box at any time during the webinar Questions will be addressed during the webinar and at the end as time allows Copyright 2013 School Nutrition Association. All Rights Reserved.

5 Today s Panelists Donna Parsons, MS, RD, SNS State Director, Child Nutrition Services Office for the Superintendent of Public Instruction Barbara Lloyd, RDN, SNS, CD Food Service Director Edmonds School District Kenny Thompson Founder Feed the Future Forward and Lunch Super Hero Fund Copyright 2013 School Nutrition Association. All Rights Reserved.

6 Donna Parsons, MS, RD, SNS State Director, Child Nutrition Services Office for the Superintendent of Public Instruction Copyright 2013 School Nutrition Association. All Rights Reserved.

7 What is Unpaid Meal Charges? Unpaid Meal Charges occur when students arrive for the meal service without money to pay for a meal. It is the LEAs responsibility to develop policies regarding meal service to students. The policy should include a procedure for the collection of any money owed. Funds should be collected on or before the end of the school year in which the charges occurred. LEAs must make every reasonable attempt to recover the money owed.

8 What is bad debt? Unpaid Meal Charges become bad debt only after every reasonable attempt has been made to recover the money owed. Bad debt is not allowable in accordance to 2 CFR 225, Appendix B, Item 5.

9 How State Agencies Play A Role State Agencies play a major role in making sure LEAs comply with federal regulations. Majority would recommend ways to prevent the practice of taking food away from students if they don t have enough funds in their account. Most State Agencies are prevented from establishing actual policy, as this would be seen as local control.

10 Unpaid Meal Charges State Agencies Washington State a local control state. The State Agency (SA) does not set policy for unpaid meal charges. SA issues guidance to LEAs stating they must have a policy which describes who, what, why, when and how much can be charged policy should be sent out to all households on an annual basis

11 Unpaid Meal Charges State Agencies Alaska a local control state. Each LEA has the flexibility to create their own policy. California SA issues guidance. Define unrecovered/delinquent debt and bad debt separately. Set minimum guidance as to what should be included in policies drafted by LEAs

12 Unpaid Meal Charges State Agencies Idaho a local control state. LEAs seem to come up with their policies due to the comfort of each community. North Carolina a local control state. The State Agency allows LEAs to establish their own policies as long as all unpaid meal charges (bad debt) is cleared from the non-profit food service account annually.

13 Unpaid Meal Charges State Agencies Missouri a local control state. Each LEA is responsible for establishing and adhering to a policy/procedure. Unpaid debt is an issue. Illinois - a local control state. Each LEA must establish their own policy. Unpaid debt is an issue. The SA receives many calls.

14 Unpaid Meal Charges State Agencies Alabama SA mandates that all LEAs have policy in place to: recover uncollected charges and checks with insufficient funds. Repayment must be made from non-public funds. Reviewed as part of the Administrative Review.

15 Unpaid Meal Charges State Agencies In Texas, LEAs are required to develop a charge policy and submit the policy to the SA. The SA provides guidance and technical assistance to LEAs that encourage them to evaluate policies on a regular basis and to ensure policies address both the needs of the children, as well as the financial solvency of the program. harge-policy-rack-card.pdf

16 Need further guidance Most SA do not have an internal policy for looking at unpaid debt or assessing it while on reviews. Most SA do not put out specific guidance on how to handle the amount of the unpaid debt. Most SA would really like further guidance on responsibilities of the SA in helping LEAs handle unpaid debt correctly

17 Barbara Lloyd, RDN, SNS, CD Food Service Director Edmonds School District

18 Operations Located 30 miles north of Seattle, WA K-12 District serving 5 cities and some unincorporated areas of the county Cover 36 square miles 20,000 students 21 Elementary Schools 4 Middle Schools 5 High Schools 38% Free/Reduced

19 Operations Self operated enterprise program within the School District 4 Central Kitchens, 27 Satellite Kitchens Transport Bulk Hot and Cold

20 Prior to 2005 History Prior to 2005 K-6 students were allowed to have 3 Breakfasts and 3 Lunches without paying. After that they were given a substitute meal. Students were notified in line when they were getting close to running out meals students were not allowed any free meals All records were kept manually; all debt was forgiven at the end of the school year

21 Transition Prior to 2005, the cashier was at the end of the serving line, which required us to take the tray away from the child when giving them the substitute meal In 2005, in response to a parent who objected to the way this was being handled, our practice changed.

22 Students were allowed to have full reimbursable meals regardless of their ability to pay. No tray was taken away from a student at any grade level. No substitute meals were given. By the end of school year , the uncollected debt had risen to over $200,000.00

23 Students are allowed to accumulate a total debt of no more than $ When that amount is reached, the student no longer receives a full meal, but receives a Safety Net Meal Breakfast = Cereal and Milk Lunch = Cheese Sandwich, Milk, Fruit

24 Methods of Retrieving Money Owed Low Balance Letters Negative Balance Letters Notifying Students in Line (age appropriate and confidentially) Letters Mailed Home (7 12 th grades) Automated Phone Messages Withholding Report Cards and Transcripts (Board Policy)

25 Communication Parent Newsletters District Community Relations Department District Website Teaching Parents How To Check Their Students Meal Account Balance Offered Payment Plans

26 Present In May 2010, we transitioned to a no credit policy. Students are not allowed to accrue debt in any amount. There is just over $13,000 still owing from active/enrolled students (from all eligibility categories). There is another $22,000 still owing from inactive/withdrawn students (from all eligibility categories.

27 Kenny Thompson Founder Feed the Future Forward and Lunch Super Hero Fund

28 Eliminating Stigma Exploring Solutions

29 Topics Educating Parents/Students on available lunch programs/financial Obligation Informing/collecting on obligation Importance of nutrition for optimum performance Stigma of alternative lunch programs Benefits of eliminating the alternative lunch programs Programs/Solutions

30 Lunch Programs Vary from state to state, district to district, and school to school; as does the alternative lunch option. The new CEP Program. Eliminating the debt along with the stigma. The importance of nutrition to a student s performance. New programs kick-started by districts and FTFF. Other available ideas/solutions.

31 Financial Obligation Parental financial obligations vary. Free is FREE! Reduced: under 75 dollars per school year Full price: up to 300 dollars per school year! if parents fall behind kids may get The Alternative Lunch Option! Informing parents of account balance and collecting on account before delinquency.

32 Is nutrition important to a student s academic success? ABSOLUTELY! Working on a solution is our goal!

33 New CEP Program Takes Effect Reduces paperwork Eliminates burden of collecting money from students Eliminates over-identification and stigma Saves staff time Every child receives nourishment and well balanced meals

34 Eliminating the Lunch Stigma NEW CEP PROGRAM TAKES EFFECT DISTRICT WIDE IN PITTSBURGH School District officials said the new program should alleviate problems that existed when only a portion of students received free meals, including large amounts of paperwork and the burden of having to collect money from students. The program will also eliminate the stigma of over-identification. It s a unique opportunity for schools to cut down on the stigma of which students get meals and which students don t. It s seamless, and there s no distinction. The staff who have to spend some of their day doing counts on who pays and who doesn t pay [can] be more focused on how we re providing this meal and which steps to make sure they re consuming it. Gives every child the opportunity to receive nourishment and well-balanced meals that contribute to overall learning. The primary focus of the program is to feed the kids. We want them to succeed. And in order for a child to succeed educationally, they need their needs met. Ensuring all students have access to healthy meals is important. Pittsburgh Post Gazette

35 Eliminating the Lunch Stigma Students at 169 HISD Schools to Eat for Free During school year There will be many benefits, including reducing any stigma students might find associated with free meals. Regardless of income, all students at participating schools will be able to eat well. The main goal is to ensure students eat healthy meals so they can stay focused on learning throughout the school day. Students will be able to eat nutritious meals every day at school without having to worry about whether their parents filled out an application or have the money to pay. This is one more way for the district to keep our students focused on academic achievement. Click2Houston.com

36 Programs Kick-started By FTFF Spring Branch ISD The Spring Branch Education Foundation s mission is to enhance the quality of education for every student in SBISD. Founded in 1993, SBEF provides donors with a vehicle for making tax-deductible gifts for district and campus approved programs. Donors can earmark their donations for the Lunch Buddy Project by clicking on the link and choosing the Lunch Buddy donate now button. No more alternative lunches served! District wide!

37 Programs Kick-started By FTFF Cy-Fair ISD Darin Crawford, director of food service for Cy-Fair ISD, said every year the department has a number of delinquent accounts for school lunches. In food service, it s the toughest thing to not feed a kid, because that s what we re here to do, Crawford said. We met with Kenny, and he was so passionate about this. You could tell his heart was in it. We developed a game plan. The District Lunch Super Hero Fund was launched, and today it thrives! It eliminated the alternative lunch option for all schools in the entire district!

38 The Benefits food servers focus on feeding our kids a time for our students to take a break, socialize, re-fuel, and re-charge academic success nutritious meals healthier and happier students optimum performance our students need to be fed to be able to focus take the stigma out of the cafeteria

39 SPRING BRANCH We need a solution! IT S TIME FOR A CHANGE! HOUSTON CY-FAIR KATY

40 From students to teachers to administrators, we have to make the change. We can do better! Together we can find the answer!

41 Questions

42 Thank You Archives, CEU information, and other resources available at