Paid Lunch Price Report

Subsection 12 (p) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and 7 CFR 210.14 (e)(7) require that school food authorities (SFAs) report their paid reimbursable lunch prices to the state agency for publication by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). This memorandum provides guidance on how to report these prices for school year (SY) 2011-2012.

SFAs must report their most frequently charged price at each of these categories--elementary, middle/junior high and high school levels—to their state agency. State agencies then consolidate these prices and report them on the FNS-828, School Food Authority Paid Lunch Price Report. A hard copy of the FNS-828 is provided as an attachment to this memo and is also available as an Excel spreadsheet on our website. State agencies should add rows to the spreadsheet, as necessary, to ensure all SFAs and their data are included.

Submitting the FNS-828

For SY 2011-2012 only, state agencies must submit the FNS-828 to FNS Headquarters no later than April 30, 2012. Subsequent reports will be due by the last operating day of November each year. In order to meet the reporting deadline, state agencies must provide SFAs with information on how to submit the report and establish a deadline that will enable the state agency to submit the information to FNS. Reports will be submitted via email and we will advise state agencies of the exact email address once the mailbox is available.

Determining the Most Frequently Charged Price

SFAs report the most frequently charged prices of each category established within each SFA at the beginning of each school year. If multiple prices are charged in any category, report the price charged for the majority of paid reimbursable lunches claimed in October.

For example, if the meal prices for elementary students within an SFA are set at $1.50, $1.60, and $1.75 and the total number of paid lunches in the SFA for the elementary category claimed in October was 1,000, the SFA would need to identify the number of lunches claimed at each price. In this example, if 650 were purchased at $1.50, 200 were purchased at $1.60 and 150 were purchased at $1.75, the “most frequently charged price” in the SFA for the elementary category in this example would be $1.50 since the majority of the paid lunches claimed in October were charged at $1.50.

SFAs should contact their state agency for assistance for any questions regarding how to determine the most frequently charged price for each category.

Reporting Requirements

All SFAs must report. SFAs with no students in one or more of the above categories must enter "N/A" as appropriate. SFAs that do not charge for paid student lunches must enter "$0.00" in any or all categories, as applicable. SFAs that have some schools that do not charge for lunches (i.e., Provision 2 schools), would report the most frequently charged lunch price(s) in those schools or categories of schools that do charge for paid lunches.

Publication of Paid Lunch Prices

FNS will post the information submitted on our web site. SFAs will be grouped by state and listed by name with the reported prices for each category.

Because of the need to post the information as soon as possible after the due date, state agencies must ensure that complete and accurate information is provided for publication. We will notify Regional offices and state agencies before the information is posted.

State agencies should contact their FNS regional office with any questions.

Cynthia Long
Director
Child Nutrition Division

Attachment

• School Food Authority Paid Lunch Price Report