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Policy EFC

Nutrition Services: Meals, Meal Charging And Prohibition Against Food Shaming  

The South Portland School Department Board recognizes that good nutrition is related to students’ physical  and social-emotional well-being and their readiness to learn. SPSD shall participate, as feasible, in the National School Breakfast and Lunch and other food programs that may be available.  The purpose of this policy is to ensure compliance with federal requirements for the school unit’s Child Nutrition Program; to provide oversight and accountability in the collection of outstanding  student meal balances; and to ensure that students are not shamed or stigmatized for having unpaid meal charges.  This policy clarifies guidelines for students. Items outside of reimbursable meals (e.g. a la carte items) must be paid upon purchase or be prepaid.

MEAL BENEFITS 

  • South Portland School Department will provide one of the reimbursable meal choices to any student who requests, regardless of the child’s ability to pay. 

  • Students eligible for free meals will be allowed to receive a free breakfast and lunch meal of their choice each day. 

  • Students eligible for reduced price meal benefits will be allowed to receive a breakfast and lunch meal of their choice each day at the reduced rate.  

  • Full-pay students are expected to pay for meals at the school’s published meal charge rate each day or in advance, except when the district is offering universal free meals. 

  • Second Meal/Milk: Students eligible for free or reduced priced lunches may receive a second meal or milk for no charge. Students who pay full price for meals may pay full price for a second meal or milk. When the school district is eligible for universal free meals, all students may receive a second meal or milk at no charge. The South Portland School Department will establish internal procedures for accounting, and support the cost difference between the reimbursable expenses and additional charges.  These procedures may vary due to state and federal reimbursement protocols, but will be designed to be consistent with this policy. Expenses incurred as a result of this commitment will be charged to the School District, not the School Nutrition Department.

PROHIBITION ON PUNISHMENT RELATED TO UNPAID MEAL CHARGES 

  1. Students with unpaid meal charges will not be required to do chores or work as a means  of paying for one or more meals or as punishment for not paying for one or more meals. 

  2. Staff will not require a student to throw away a meal after it has been served to the  student. 

  3. Staff will not refuse a meal to a student as a form of disciplinary action. 

  4. Student debt will carry over from year to year. Contact will be made with the  parent/guardian to recoup the debt.

PROHIBITION ON FOOD SHAMING AND STIGMATIZATION  

The school will not openly identify or otherwise stigmatize a student who cannot pay for a meal or who has payments due for previous meals. 

  1. Staff will not identify or stigmatize any student in line for a meal or discuss any outstanding meal debt in the presence of other students. 

  2. A student with unpaid meal charges will not be required to wear a wristband or anything that differentiates them from other students. 

  3. Staff communication about a student’s meal debts must be made to the parent/guardian of the student rather than directly to the student, except that if a student asks about their meal debt, staff may answer the student’s inquiry. Staff may ask a student to carry to  their parent/guardian a letter regarding the student’s meal debt. 

FAMILY OUTREACH 

The Nutrition Program will provide parents/guardians with a free and reduced price application and instructions at the beginning of each school year, including eligibility guidelines. 

The Nutrition Program will provide additional information about free and reduced price applications to families identified as owing meal charges. 

NOTIFICATION AND COLLECTION OF UNPAID MEAL CHARGES 

The Nutrition Program will not take any action directed at a student to collect unpaid meal charges. 

The Nutrition Program will regularly notify a student’s parent/guardian that the student has accrued charges.  

The Nutrition Program will offer assistance with completion of the application and will use any available or necessary administrative/direct certification methods to maximize student eligibility for free and reduced price meals if the school’s efforts to obtain a completed application from the  parent/guardian have been exhausted. If the debt continues to remain unpaid, the school will  follow such guidelines as may be developed by the Maine Department of Education for the  collection of student meal debt, or take such action as deemed appropriate within the limits of  applicable law and/or regulations. 

Parents/guardians who are carrying a debt will have the debt prorated based on qualification status. 

Our school nutrition non-discrimination information can be found online here https://www.spsd.org/district/non-discrimination-statement. 


Legal Reference: 20-A MRSA §6601-6602 

 20-A MRSA §6681 

Adopted: October 11, 2022

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