Payments for Meals

The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a system for accurately recording payments received and tracking meals provided to each student.

At the beginning of the school year, the Superintendent or designee shall communicate the district’s meal payment policies through multiple methods, including but not limited to:

  1. Explaining the meal charge policy within registration materials provided to parents/guardians at the start of the school year.

  2. Including the policy in print versions of student handbooks, if provided to parents/guardians annually.

  3. Providing the policy whenever parent/guardians are notified regarding the application process for free and reduced-price meals, such as in the distribution of eligibility forms at the start of the school year

  4. Posting the policy on the district’s website.

Reimbursement Claims

Balances Remaining on Student’s Account

Free Student Accounts:

  1. Parents/Guardians of a free student may request a refund any time during the year.

  2. Any student exiting or graduating from the district will have their balance refunded, regardless of the amount in their account.

  3. The cafeteria clerk will note on the withdrawal slip the amount of money remaining on the student’s cafeteria account when the student is exiting from the district.

  4. The Cafeteria Clerk, at the school site the student attends, will request a refund of any balance on an exiting free account. This balance will automatically be refunded monthly.

  5. The Cafeteria Clerk will run a report at the end of each month for any active student on free status with a balance greater than $.5.00 and will refund any amount over $5.00 monthly.

  6. Prior to the end of the school year, the cafeteria clerk will run an active student report and any balance of $5.00 or less will remain in the students’ account and roll over to the next school year unless the parent/guardian requests a refund.

Reduced Student Accounts:

  1. Parents/guardian of a reduced-pay students may request a refund or to transfer funds to a sibling’s account at any time during the year.

  2. Any student exiting or graduating from the district will have their balance refunded, regardless of the amount in their account.

  3. The Cafeteria Clerk will note on the withdrawal slip the amount of money remaining on the student’s cafeteria account when the student is exiting from the district.

  4. The Cafeteria Clerk, at the school site the student attends will run an inactive student report and will request a refund on any balance of an exiting reduced account. This balance will automatically be refunded monthly.

  5. The Cafeteria Clerk will run a report at the end of each month for any active student on reduced status with a balance of greater than $5.00 and will refund any amount over $5.00 monthly.

  6. Prior to the end of the school year, the cafeteria clerk will run an active student report and any balance of $5.00 or less will remain in the students’ account and roll over to the next school year unless the parent/guardian requests a refund.

The refund, for both free and reduced-pay students, will be mailed to the last known address or forwarding address of the parent/guardian, if one was given.

Should the refund be returned as undeliverable, the district will attempt to call the parent/guardian at the phone number on record twice, once on two separate business days to obtain the current mailing address of the parent/guardian. When contacted by phone, parents may choose to donate any balance to the cafeteria fund. The Business Office personnel will record the date, time and name of the person making the donation. Should the parent not respond within 5 business days of the last phone call, the balance shall be transferred to the cafeteria fund.

Full-Pay Student Accounts:

  1. Parents/guardians of full-pay active students may request a refund, transfer funds to a sibling’s account, or donate the remaining balance at any time during the year.

  2. The Cafeteria Clerk will note on the withdrawal slip the amount of money remaining on the student’s cafeteria account when the student is exiting from the district.

  3. The Cafeteria Clerk, at the school site the student attends, will run an active student report and will request a refund for full-pay active students exiting the district monthly or graduating at the end of the school year.

  4. If the account balance of a full-paid active student who is exiting or graduating from the District is less than $5.00, the Cafeteria Clerk will attempt to contact the parent/guardian to see if they would like a refund, to transfer funds to a sibling’s account, or donate the funds to the cafeteria. The Cafeteria Clerk will attempt to contact the parent/guardian twice and record the date, time, and name of the person contacted on the student account log. Should the parent not respond within five business days of the last phone call, the balance shall be transferred to the cafeteria fund as a donation.

  5. The Cafeteria Clerk will run a report at the end of each month for any active student on full pay status with a balance of greater than $5.00 and will refund that amount. If the amount is over $5.00, but less than $1.00, contact the parent/guardian to see if they want to donate it to the cafeteria department before processing the refund.

  6. Prior to the end of the school year, the Cafeteria Clerk will run an active student report and any balance of $5.00 or less will remain in the student’s account and roll over to the next school year unless the parent/guardian request a refund.

Reimbursement Claims

The Superintendent or designee shall maintain records of the number of meals served each day by school site and by category of free and reduced-price meals. The Superintendent or designee shall submit reimbursement claims for school meals to the California Department of Education (CDE) using the online Child and Nutrition Information and Payment System.

Minimizing Food Waste and Reducing Food

The District shall take steps to minimize food waste and reduce food insecurity in district schools. (Health and Safety Code 114079)

The Superintendent or designee shall arrange to recover the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be disposed for donation to a local food recovery organization. (14 CCR 18991.3)

The district may also provide sharing tables where students and staff may return appropriate unused cafeteria food items to be made available to students during the course of a regular school meal time. If food on the sharing table is not taken by a student, the school cafeteria may donate the food to a food bank or any other non-profit charitable organization. (Health and Safety Code 114079)

Food that may be donated includes prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food with the packaging still intact and in good condition, whole uncut produce that complies with Health and Safety Code 113992, unopened bags of sliced fruit, unopened containers of milk that are immediately stored in a cooling bin maintained at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below, and perishable prepackaged food if it is placed in a proper temperature-controlled environment. The preparation, safety, and donation of food shall be consistent with Health and Safety Code 113980. (Health and Safety Code 114079)

The Superintendent or designee shall maintain records related to edible food recovery, including a list of each food recovery service or organization that collects or receives the district’s edible food, contact information for the service or organization, the types of food, frequency, and quantity that will be collected or hauled by the district, and a copy of contracts or written agreements between the district and food recovery services or organizations. (14 CCR 18991.4)

Cafeteria Fund and Account

All proceeds from food sales and other services offered by the cafeteria shall be deposited in the cafeteria fund as provided by law. (Education Code 38090, 38093)

The cafeteria fund shall be used only for those expenditures authorized by the Governing Board as necessary for the operation of school cafeterias in accordance with Education Code 38100-38103, 2 CFR Part 200 Appendix VII, and the California School Accounting Manual.

The district may use cafeteria funds to supplement the provision of a nutritionally adequate breakfast and /or lunch to district students when permitted by law.

Any charges to, or transfers from, a food service program shall be dated and accompanied by a written explanation of the purpose of and basis for the expenditure. (Education Code 38101)

Indirect costs charged to the food service program shall be based on either the district’s prior year indirect cost rate as approved by CDE or the statewide average approved indirect cost rate for the second prior fiscal year, whichever is less. (Education Code 38101)

Net cash resources in the nonprofit school food service shall not exceed six months’ average expenditures. (7 CFR 210.14, 220.7)

U.S. Department of Agriculture Foods

The district shall provide facilities for storage and control of foods received through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that protect against theft, spoilage, damage, or other loss. Such storage facilities shall maintain donation foods in sanitary conditions, at the proper temperature and humidity, and with adequate air circulation. The district shall comply with all federal, state, or local requirements related to food safety and health and procedures for responding to a food recall, as applicable, and shall obtain all required health inspections. (7 CFR 250.14)

The Superintendent or designee shall maintain inventories of USDA foods in accordance with 7 CFR 250.59 and CDE procedures, and shall ensure that foods are used before their expiration dates.

USDA foods shall be used in school lunches as far as practicable. USDA foods also may be used in other nonprofit food service activities, including, but not limited to, school breakfasts or other meals, à la carte foods sold to students, meals served to adults directly involved in the operation and administration of the food service and to other school staff, and training in nutrition, health, food service, or general home economics instruction for students, provided that any revenues from such activities accrue to the district’s nonprofit food service account. (7 CFR 250. 59)