U.S. flag
        An official website of the United States government
          Here's how you know
        Here's how you knowDot gov**The .gov means it’s official.**
              
              Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.
        Https**The site is secure.**
              
              The **https://** ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.  *You are now leaving the USDA Food and Nutrition Service website and entering a non-government or non-military external link or a third-party site.*

*FNS provides links to other websites with additional information that may be useful or interesting and is consistent with the intended purpose of the content you are viewing on our website. FNS is providing these links for your reference. FNS is not responsible for the content, copyright, and licensing restrictions of the new site.*
  
  
    *Site LogoFood and Nutrition Service
                  U.S. Department of Agriculture*
Menu


    close

        
        
                        
        
  
          Home
      
                        
              Programs
      
                
        
  
          **Programs**
          
                        
              SNAP
      
                        
              Nutrition Education & Food Safety
      
                        
              Meals for Schools and Childcare
      
                        
              Food Distribution & Emergency Assistance
      
                        
              WIC
      
                        
              Summer Nutrition Programs
      
                        
              Assistance for Seniors & Adult Care
      
                        
              Farmers Market Programs
      
                        
              NAP Block Grants for Territories
      
                        
              Data & Research
      
                
        
  
          **Data & Research**
          
                        
              Data Visualizations
      
                        
              Research & Analysis
      
                        
              Program Data
      
                        
              Funding
      
                
        
  
          **Funding**
          
                        
              Grant Opportunities
      
                        
              Grants Management
      
                        
              Doing Business with FNS
      
                        
              Newsroom
      
                
        
  
          **Newsroom**
          
                        
              Press Releases
      
                        
              Blogs
      
                        
              Notice to Stakeholders
      
                        
              Federal Register Notices
      
                        
              Success Stories
      
                        
              Newsletters
      
                        
              USDA Press Releases
      
                        
              USDA Blogs
      
                        
              Contact FNS Press Office
      
                        
              Resources
      
                
        
  
          **Resources**
          
                        
              Factsheets
      
                        
              Federal Register
      
                        
              Infographics
      
                        
              Guidance Documents
      
                        
              Policy Memos
      
                        
              Videos/Webinars
      
                        
              All Resources
      
                        
              Our Agency
      
                
        
  
          **Our Agency**
          
                        
              Acting Under Secretary
      
                        
              Deputy Under Secretary
      
                        
              Administrator
      
                        
              Assistant Administrator
      
                        
              FNS Careers
      
                        
              Contact us
      
                        
              Civil Rights
      
                        
              Equity Action Plan
      
                        
              Partnerships
      
                        
              Freedom of Information Act
      
                        
              State Systems OfficeSearch


          
                      Contact Us
                                
                          
        
                Report Fraud
                                
                          
        
                AskUSDA
                                
                          
        
                USDA.gov FNS Documents & Resources
                        Breadcrumb
    HomeExplore FNS Resources
    
      Search
Sort by
          NewestOldestRelevance
Compact View

By Date (5)
    
  2022
  (1)2021
  (2)2018
  (1)2017
  (3)2016
  (3)

By Program/Office (3)
    
  National School Lunch Program
  (9)School Breakfast Program
  (8)Special Milk Program
  (4)

By Initiatives (0)

By Topic (98)
    
  (-)
Unpaid Meal Charges
  (10)ABAWDs
  (79)Administrative Review
  (55)Adverse Action
  (21)Allotments
  (85)Allowance
  (28)American Rescue Plan
  (32)ARRA
  (43)Breastfeeding
  (101)Categorical Eligibility
  (64)CEP: Community Eligibility Provision
  (47)Certification
  (60)Certification of Compliance
  (28)Civil Money Penalty
  (15)CN Labeling
  (55)Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
  (22)COVID-19
  (391)Customer Service
  (68)Deductions
  (64)Demonstrations
  (93)Dietary Guidelines for Americans
  (50)Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)
  (27)Direct Certification
  (49)Disaster
  (173)Disqualification
  (30)EBT
  (133)Eligibility
  (514)Employment & Training (E&T)
  (176)Exclusion
  (31)Expenditures on Children by Families
  (6)Farm Bill
  (67)Farmers Markets
  (41)FFCRA
  (61)Food Buying Guide
  (17)Food Packages
  (97)Food  Safety
  (151)Foods Available
  (54)Food Security
  (31)Fraud
  (64)Grants
  (215)Healthy Eating Index
  (12)HHFKA
  (85)HIP
  (29)Household
  (36)Immigrant
  (37)Income
  (86)Integrated Food Management System (IFMS)
  (3)Integrity
  (38)Inventory
  (21)Management Evaluation
  (26)Management Information Systems (MIS)
  (44)Meal Patterns
  (232)Menu Planning
  (100)Military
  (40)MyPlate
  (59)National UPC Database
  (4)Non-Citizen
  (21)NSIP
  (15)Nutrient Analysis
  (17)Nutrient Content of the US Food Supply
  (13)Nutrition Education
  (190)Nutrition Security
  (15)Offer vs Serve
  (30)Outreach
  (255)Pilot Projects
  (23)Pregnancy and Birth to 24 Months
  (2)Processing
  (49)Procurement
  (59)Procuring Local Foods
  (30)Professional Standards
  (27)Program Administration
  (556)Program History
  (29)Program Improvement
  (73)Program Integrity
  (189)PRWORA
  (39)Public Charge
  (8)Quality Control
  (94)Reimbursement Rates
  (101)Restaurant
  (1)Sales
  (1)Simplified Reporting
  (26)Smart Snacks
  (17)Standard Utility Allowance (SUA)
  (13)Staple Foods
  (8)TANF
  (39)Technical Assistance
  (285)Third Party Processor
  (1)Thrifty Food Plan
  (59)Tools for Schools
  (12)Training
  (88)USDA Food Patterns
  (8)USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food
  (34)USDA Foods Complaints
  (8)Vendor
  (98)Waivers
  (179)WBSCM
  (18)Wellness Policy
  (30)Work Requirements
  (75)

By Audience (4)
    
  Program Operator
  (8)School
  (1)State/Local Agency
  (4)State Agency
  (8)

By Resource type (2)
    
  Policy
  (5)Technical Assistance & Guidance
  (8)

By Language (1)
    
  English
  (10)
ResetResource | Webinars/Videos
    Unpaid Meals: Best Practices to Ensure Student Access to Meals
        A webinar for state agencies and local program operators sharing proactive strategies to prevent and manage unpaid meal charges as schools return to standard counting and claiming in SY 2022-23.
      08/31/2022
    Basic page
    Program Operator
      08/23/2021
    Basic page
    Program Operator
      08/23/2021
    Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance
    Unpaid Meal Charges
        The goal of the school meal programs is to provide nutritious meals to children during the school day. Children may receive breakfast and lunch at no cost to them if they are categorically eligible for free meals or if they qualify for free meals based on federal poverty guidelines. Sometimes, however, children who do not qualify based on these standards would like a breakfast or lunch, but do not have money in their account or in-hand to cover the cost of the meal at the time of the meal service.
      11/07/2018
    Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2017-0026
    2017 Edition: Overcoming the Unpaid Meal Challenge - Proven Strategies from Our Nation’s Schools
        This is the 2017 Edition of *Overcoming the Unpaid Meal Challenge: Proven Strategies from Our Nation’s Schools*. This best practice guide is designed to support state agencies and local program operators in their efforts to find workable solutions to the challenge of unpaid meal charges.
          SP29-2017
    05/10/2017
    Resource | Webinars/Videos
    Unpaid Meal Charges: Local Charge Policy Requirement
        No later than July 1, 2017, all school food authorities (SFAs) operating National School Lunch and/or School Breakfast Program must have a written policy in place to address situations where children participating at the reduced price or paid rate do not have money to cover the cost of a meal at the time of the meal service. SFAs have discretion in developing the specifics of their policies, and FNS expects charge policies will vary based on local circumstances and available resources. This webinar provides an overview of the local charge policy requirement and shares best practices for successful policy development.
      04/04/2017
    Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2017-0013
    Unpaid Meal Charges: Guidance and Q&As
        This question and answer memorandum is designed to provide an overview of policies related to unpaid meal charges and to address common questions FNS has received from state agencies, school food authorities, and local program operators.
          SP23-2017
    03/23/2017
    Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2016-0051
    Ensuring Year-long Eligibility in the School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs
        The purpose of this memorandum is to strongly encourage local educational agencies to accept eligibility determinations from a transferring student’s former LEA to minimize disruptions in meal benefits for low-income students and avoid student debt resulting from unpaid meal charges.
          SP51-2016
    08/05/2016
    Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2016-0046
    Unpaid Meal Charges: Clarification on Collection of Delinquent Meal Payments
        There has been confusion about how unpaid meal charges must be handled when all collection efforts have been exhausted. To help address these situations, this memorandum clarifies the processes of designating delinquent debt that has been determined to be uncollectable as bad debt and obtaining assistance to offset bad debt losses.
          SP47-2016
    07/13/2016
    Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2016-0045
    Unpaid Meal Charges: Local Meal Charge Policies
        The purpose of this memorandum is to address the need for school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to institute and clearly communicate a meal charge policy, which would include, if applicable, the availability of alternate meals.
          SP46-2016
    07/08/2016Page updated: October 14, 2021 Return to top

      Home
                              
              Programs
                              
              Data & Research
                              
              Funding
                              
              Newsroom
                              
              Resources
                              
              Our AgencyUSDA
                              WhiteHouse.gov
                              FNS PartnerWeb.gov
                              No Fear Act
                              Privacy Policy
                              Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
                              Non-Discrimination Statement
                              Civil Rights
                              Accessibility
                              FOIA
                              Information Quality
                              Peer Review
  Sign up for Updates
      Your Email Address:
  
      *Site LogoFood and Nutrition Service
                  U.S. Department of Agriculture*
Menu
Twitter Facebook Gov Delivery Instagram Flickr YouTube RSS Feeds