Hot Dog Days of Summer
Happy National Hot Dog Day! To celebrate this momentous occasion, we want to take a minute to remember the students at school that may struggle with paying for meals. The effects that the pandemic has had on our economy is well known, what is less clear is how many families lack the means to pay for their child's meals at school. Schools accepting federal meal funds are required to have a policy that describes to stakeholders how they will treat unpaid meal charges. Thankfully, the USDA gives a lot of flexibility to schools to shape their procedures around their specific circumstances.
Today we'd like to share some ways for schools to reduce the likelihood of "lunch shaming," which are practices that embarrass children who are unable to pay for a meal. Minnesota requires that schools don’t “demean or stigmatize” students participating in the meal program. Here are a few ideas for how to do that.
1. Be Discrete
Minnesota now bans stickers, stamps, dumping meals, and other ways of identifying students with an unpaid meal balance. The best way to do this is by encouraging prepayment of meals. This can be done in different ways such as advance payment online or in multiple locations in the school. If a student's family is behind on payments, the school can privately call, text, or email the student's parents. If sending a physical notice, it could be included in unmarked envelope containing other school reminders or notices. Whichever methods are chosen, directly communicating with adults will avoid embarrassing situations about school meal debt in front of the child's peers.
2. Ensure Eligibility
Given the turnover in many industries, the employment status may have changed for many families at your school. Make sure that families are aware of their options and publicize eligibility in your handbook, emails, and any back to school sessions you are planning to hold this year. In addition, provide assistance for families with language or literacy barriers.
3. Move the Point of Service
This step involves additional logistical hurdles, but moving the POS to the beginning of the lunch line can prevent the unfortunate situation of having to take away or replace a child’s reimbursable meal. Moving the POS allows the cashier to determine which children, if any, are unable to pay for their meal, and allows the cashier to address the issue discretely before the child has selected a meal.
Regardless of your procedures, make sure that your unpaid meals policy is robust enough for the situation at your school. We can offer assistance in crafting this or any other policy for your school as part of our comprehensive concierge service.