FILE: E-4
CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
The Central Community School Board believes the school district should have a sound child nutrition program and that the child nutrition program should be an integral part of the total educational program. The School Board also believes that the highest possible sanitation standards should be maintained and that every effort should be made to make it possible for every child to participate in the child nutrition program without regard to race, color, disability, national origin, sex, or age.
Consequently, the School Board shall administer a Food and Nutrition Program in accordance with federal and state standards and requirements. Uniform school lunch and breakfast menus shall be established for the schools with the provisions that a cafeteria may, in addition to the uniform lunch, serve an additional menu to provide a choice for students. Menus shall conform to USDA requirements and those of the Division of Nutrition Support, Louisiana Department of Education.
The School Board, as the recognized child nutrition program authority for the school district, shall annually approve the national school lunch program, school breakfast program, U.S.D.A school commodity programs and any other related programs. The approved agreement shall meet all specifications mandated by the Louisiana Department of Education's Division of Nutrition Assistance.
Guidelines of the Louisiana Sanitary Code shall be strictly followed in the preparation, serving, and cleaning of all child nutrition programs and facilities.
GUIDELINES
Each school shall abide by state and federal guideline restrictions on the operation of concessions, canteens, snack bars, vending machines or other food and beverage sales.
No supplies or foods, including leftovers, shall be removed from the child nutrition department by any employee of the school system unless he/she has been authorized to transfer the items to another school location. Disciplinary action may result for unauthorized food removal.
Regulations prohibit the denial of any meals as disciplinary action to any child in attendance at school. Denying meals to students for disciplinary reasons associated with disruptive behavior in the cafeteria, selling or loaning free or reduced price meal badges or barcodes, etc. is prohibited under Federal regulations. Disciplinary action used for other unacceptable behavior should be applied in these situations.
SPECIAL EVENTS/USE OF CAFETERIA
Special events should not interfere with the preparation and service of school lunch, breakfasts, or snacks. School functions involving the use of the cafeteria shall be arranged through the principal and approved by the Supervisor of Child Nutrition. Whenever the cafeteria is used by the school, one or more of the child nutrition employees shall be in charge to ensure control over child nutrition foods and to ensure proper use and care of equipment and facilities. A Special Event form must be completed and sent to the Supervisor of Child Nutrition at least two (2) weeks in advance of the event. Events that occur at scheduled times during the school year can be handled by sending in one notice listing all of the dates.
PAYMENT FOR MEALS
The School Board is not obligated to continue providing meals without receiving payment. The students' ability to pay is determined through the free and reduced price meal application process. Those students not eligible for free meals must pay for their meals at the prices established for full price and reduced price students. Regulations do not prohibit a school system from denying a meal to paying students who have not paid for the meal.
Payment in Advance
Students shall be allowed to pay for their lunch by the week, the month, or the year. The cafeteria manager shall collect and record all advanced payments. Upon entering the payment information, the computer shall assign each student a number and shall keep a record of the financial status for students that have paid in advance.
Payment Each Day
For a student who will pay for his/her meal each day, the cashier shall collect the money payment from the student and record in the computer the student’s payment along with the student’s ID number for proper accounting purposes.
Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) Checks
Upon receipt of an NSF (non-sufficient funds) check, the food service manager shall call the parent/guardian of the child to notify him/her of the check. Two (2) attempts to contact the parent/guardian by telephone shall be made by the food service manager (using the home telephone number for the parent/guardian, which is on file in the principal's office). If the manager is not able to contact the parent/guardian, then a certified letter shall be sent to the parent/guardian (using the home address for the parent/guardian, which is on file in the principal's office).
The food service manager shall keep the NSF check until cash or a money order for the amount of the check and the certified postage is received by the food service manager. In the event that bank charges are incurred for handling NSF checks, the parent/guardian shall be responsible for also paying these charges. The cash or money order must be received within ten (10) working days after the parent/guardian receives a call or letter. If the money has not been received within ten (10) working days, the check shall be turned over to the sheriff's department for collection or legal processing.
If more than one NSF check is received from a parent/guardian, no more checks shall be accepted from the parent/guardian who issued the check.
FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEAL APPLICATIONS
Eligibility for participation of students in the free and reduced meal program shall be determined by family meal application or direct certification of participation in migrant, runaway, or homeless education programs. A multi-child, family application to apply for school meal benefits shall be sent to the parents or guardians of each student within the first week of school. Parents shall be requested to complete an application listing all students enrolled in Central Community public schools and return it to the determining official for review. The applicant should be made aware that deliberate misrepresentation on the application may subject him or her to prosecution under applicable state and federal criminal statutes. Such applications (approved and disapproved) and documentation of the action taken shall be maintained for three (3) years after the end of the fiscal year to which they pertain.
State guidelines allow for the limited disclosure of information about free and reduced price meal eligibility without consent of the parent. The information may be used only for the purpose authorized and may not be shared with any other parties for any reason. Aggregate information that does not identify individuals continues to be permitted without parental consent. Under the National School Lunch Act (NSLA), the release of a child's eligibility status is permitted to persons directly connected with and who need to know a child's free and reduced price meal eligibility status in order to carry out an activity specifically authorized by the NSLA.
Revised: August, 2013
Revised: June, 2014
Revised: February 12, 2018
Ref: 42 USC 1751 et seq. (School Lunch Programs)
42 USC 1771 et seq. (Child Nutrition)
7 CFR 210 (National School Lunch Program)
7 CFR 220 (School Breakfast Program)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:82, 17:191, 17:192, 17:192.1, 17:193, 17:194, 17:195, 17:196, 17:197, 17:197.1, 17:198, 17:199, 39:2101, 40.4
Louisiana Sanitary Code, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals
Board minutes, 10-14-13, 2-12-18
Central Community School Board