Policy 3551 - Food Service Operations/Cafeteria Fund

Rule 3551

Rule Approved 09/21/2004

Payments for Meals

The Payments for Meals Policy protects the financial integrity of the District and Nutrition Services Department. The Child Nutrition Program of the District focuses on the student's well-being and nutrition first and foremost.

With the exception of students who are eligible to receive meals at no cost, students may pay on a per-meal basis or submit payments in advance. The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a system for accurately recording payments received and tracking meals provided to each student. A

t the beginning of the school year, and whenever a student enrolls during the school year, parents/guardians shall be notified of the District's meal payment policies and be encouraged to prepay for meals whenever possible. 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 parents/guardians are notified regarding the application process for free and reduced-price meals, such as in the distribution of applications at the start of the school year
4. Posting the policy on the District's web site
5. Establishing a system to notify parents/guardians when a student's meal payment account has a low or negative balance

In order to avoid potential misuse of a student's food service account by someone other than the student in whose name the account has been established, the Superintendent or designee shall verify a student's identity when setting up the account and when charging any meal to the account. The Superintendent or designee shall investigate any claim that a bill does not belong to a student or is inaccurate, shall not require a student to pay a bill that appears to be the result of identity theft, and shall open a new account with a new account number for a student who appears to be the subject of identity theft.

Any payments made to a student's food service account shall, if not used within the school year, be carried over into the next school year or be refunded to the student's parents/guardians.

Adults, including staff and teachers, are not allowed to charge meals. They are to prepay or pay cash on a daily basis.

Unpaid and Delinquent Meal Charges

No later than 10 days after a student's school meal account has reached a negative balance, the Superintendent or designee shall so notify the student's parent/guardian. Before sending this notification, the District shall exhaust all options and methods to directly certify the student for free or reduced-price meals. If the District is not able to directly certify the student, the notice to the parent/guardian shall include a paper copy of, or an electronic link to, an application for free or reduced-price meals and the Superintendent or designee shall contact the parent/guardian to encourage submission of the application.

The District may attempt to collect unpaid school meal fees from a parent/guardian, but shall not use a debt collector.

The Superintendent or designee may enter into an agreement with a student's parent/guardian for payment of the student's unpaid meal charge balance over a period of time. As necessary, the repayment plan may allow the unrecovered or delinquent debt to carry over into the next fiscal year.

The District shall not direct any action toward a student to collect unpaid school meal fees. The District's efforts to collect debt shall be consistent with district policies and procedures, California Department of Education (CDE) guidance, and 2 CFR 200.426. The District shall not spend more than the actual debt owed in efforts to recover unpaid meal charges.

The Superintendent or designee shall maintain records of the efforts made to collect unpaid meal charges and, if applicable, financial documentation showing when the unpaid meal balance has become an operating loss.

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, reduced-price, and full-price meals. The Superintendent or designee shall submit reimbursement claims for school meals to the California Department of Education (CDE) using the online Child Nutrition Information and Payment System.

Donation of Leftover Food

To minimize waste and reduce food insecurity, the District may provide sharing tables where students 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 tables is not taken by a student, the Nutrition Services Department may make arrangements to donate the food to a food bank or other established nonprofit charitable organization. To maintain food safety, security and program integrity, all arrangements for food donations must be made by the Nutrition Services Department.

Food that may be donated includes prepackaged, nonpotentially hazardous food with the packaging still intact and in good condition, whole uncut produce, 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.

Cafeteria Fund

All proceeds from food sales and other services offered by the cafeteria shall be deposited in the cafeteria fund as provided by law. The income and expenditures of any cafeteria revolving account established by the Board of Education shall be recorded as income and expenditures of the cafeteria fund.

The cafeteria fund shall be used only for those expenditures authorized by the 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.

With CDE approval, the District may use cafeteria funds to supplement the provision of universal breakfast. On or before July 1 of each year, the District shall submit to CDE a Board-signed application certifying that breakfast will be provided to all students at no charge and that any cost above the amount provided in federal reimbursement will be covered by the District with nonfederal funds.

Any charges to, or transfers from, a food service program shall be dated and accompanied by a written explanation of the expenditure’s purpose and basis.

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.

Net cash resources in the nonprofit school food service shall not exceed three months average expenditures.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Foods

The District shall provide facilities for the 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 donated 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.

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 donated 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, a 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.

Contracts with Outside Services

The term of any contract for management consulting services related to food services management shall not exceed one year. Any renewal of the contract or further requests for proposals to provide such services shall be considered on a year-to-year basis.

Any contract for management of the food service operation shall be approved by CDE and comply with the conditions in Education Code 49554 and 7 CFR 210.16 as applicable. The District shall retain control of the quality, extent, and general nature of its food services, including prices to be charged to students for meals, and shall monitor the food service operation through periodic on-site visits. The District shall not enter into a contract with a food service company to provide a la carte food services only, unless the company agrees to offer free, reduced-price, and full-price reimbursable meals to all eligible students.

A contract for food service management consulting services shall not result in the supervision of food service classified staff by the management consultant, nor shall it result in the elimination of any food service classified staff or position or have any adverse effect on the wages, benefits or other terms and conditions of employment of classified food service staff or positions. All persons providing consulting services shall be subject to applicable employment conditions related to health and safety as listed in Education Code 45103.5.