FNS is issuing this memorandum on the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer transaction data as evidence of an intentional program violation.
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.
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.
Attached are revised Questions and Answers related to the final rule entitled, Certification of Compliance with Meal Requirements for the National School Lunch Program under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
This final rule adopts, with some revisions, changes to the NSLP regulations, as set forth in the interim final rule published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2012. The changes conform to requirements contained in the Healthy, Hunger- Free Kids Act of 2010 regarding performance-based cash assistance for school food authorities certified compliant with meal pattern and nutrition standards.
The Food and Nutrition Service published an interim final rule entitled "Certification of Compliance with Meal Requirements for the National School Lunch Program under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010'' on April 27, 2012.
FNS recently released the new Administrative Review Guidance Manual, which includes four options that state agencies may use to assess compliance with Dietary Specifications – calories, saturated fat, and sodium – requirements.