FNS is establishing a nationwide waiver to support schools unable to complete a triennial assessment of the local school wellness policies by June 30, 2020, due to school closures as a result of COVID–19. This waiver applies to state agencies that have local educational agencies administering the NSLP and/or SBP.
This is the 2017 Edition of Overcoming the Unpaid Meal Challenge: Proven Strategies from Our Nation’s Schools. This best practice guide is designed to support state agencies and local program operators in their efforts to find workable solutions to the challenge of unpaid meal charges.
Local educational agencies participating in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program are required to develop a local school wellness policy that promotes the health of students and addresses the problem of childhood obesity.
This question and answer memorandum is designed to provide an overview of policies related to unpaid meal charges and to address common questions FNS has received from state agencies, school food authorities, and local program operators.
The purpose of this memorandum is to strongly encourage local educational agencies to accept eligibility determinations from a transferring student’s former LEA to minimize disruptions in meal benefits for low-income students and avoid student debt resulting from unpaid meal charges.
There has been confusion about how unpaid meal charges must be handled when all collection efforts have been exhausted. To help address these situations, this memorandum clarifies the processes of designating delinquent debt that has been determined to be uncollectable as bad debt and obtaining assistance to offset bad debt losses.
The purpose of this memorandum is to address the need for school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to institute and clearly communicate a meal charge policy, which would include, if applicable, the availability of alternate meals.
This memorandum provides information on the new requirements for local wellness policies so that local educational agencies can begin reviewing their policies for the coming school year 2011-12, and begin moving forward on implementing the new requirements.
In Section 204 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, each local educational agency participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 is required to establish a local wellness policy for schools under the LEA, not later than the first day of the school year beginning after June 30, 2006.