Alternate Lunch Policy
Dear Parents/Guardians,
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires every school district that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to have a written policy for unpaid meal charges.
The policy pertains to families who have children participating in the lunch program at the paid or reduced rate, but do not have money in their account, or in hand, to cover the cost of the meal at the time of service. CCSD59’s procedures outline how these situations will be handled and are intended to provide a consistent practice to reduce confusion for families and students.
Parents are responsible for ensuring that children have an adequate lunch from home or sufficient funds to purchase school meals. It is strongly suggested that parents/guardians use MealTime Online to monitor their student’s meal account. MealTime Online can also be used to conveniently make deposits to ensure your child has consistent access to nutritious and healthy meals without accruing unpaid meal balances. There are no fees related to this convenience.
ALTERNATE LUNCH PROCEDURES
An Alternate Lunch is different than the daily advertised meal and is provided to students who have exceeded the established maximum negative balance and do not bring a lunch from home or money to purchase lunch. Students will be allowed to charge meals however, when the negative balance reaches (-$8.00) for a Paid student and (-$1.50) for a Reduced student an Alternate Lunch will be provided.
The Alternate Lunch allows the student the option of a cheese or sunbutter sandwich in place of the daily entree. In addition, they may select the offered side items and a milk. The Alternate Lunch is a federally determined complete meal and will be charged to the student’s account at the appropriate paid or reduced price.
Low Balance Statements
Low Balance Statements are emailed to families once a week to keep them informed regarding their student’s meal account balance and to encourage deposits to avoid going into the negative. Parents can also keep track of their student’s balance by using MealTime Online.
Negative Balance Statements
Negative Balance Statements are emailed to families daily after lunch if accounts remain in the negative. At the end of the school year, any unpaid meal charges will be carried over into the next school year. All negative balances that exceed $25.00 will be added to Skyward student fees and will be processed for collections.
If you have questions regarding this change in alternate meal procedures, please contact the School Nutrition Office at 847-593-4341 or 847-593-4338.