Proper oversight and management of School Nutrition Program meal and non-program food pricing is required to ensure that all costs associated with purchasing, preparing, and serving these meals and snacks are recovered to the nonprofit food service account. Resources below assist school food authorities in setting prices for adult meals, paid student meals, non-program foods purchased from the food service account, and recovering student meal debt owed to the school food service account.

•  - 4/12/21
  Overview of student payment policy recommendations and guidance on collecting student meal debt.
• Student Meal Pricing Requirements  - 7/20/20
  Annual review of student prices for paid meals. No meal charges for: lunches and breakfasts served to students approved for reduced-price meal benefits; breakfasts served to kindergarten students and to prekindergarten students at qualifying voluntary prekindergarten programs.
•  - 6/23/20
  Minimum meal charges for paid meals to adults and other non-program meals.
• Paid Lunch Equity Tool SY 2020-21 - 5/21/20
  This Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) Tool for SY 2020-21 was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
•  - 7/3/19
  Includes the definition of program adult who may receive meals at no charge.
• Meal Charge Policy Checklist - 6/17/19
  The checklist identifies the components of a well-written meal charge policy.
• Quick Guide to Unpaid Meal Charges - 6/10/19
  Overview of unpaid meal charges, including creating a local charge policy, offering alternate meals, handling delinquent debt and bad debt and web resources.
• Sample Call Scripts - 6/4/19
  These sample scripts can be used to notify households with outstanding balances via telephone.
• Sample Payment Procedures - 6/4/19
  This template procedure can be used to identify how meal payments can be made.
• Sample Outstanding Balance Letter - 6/4/19
  This template letter can be used to send notices to households with outstanding balances.
•  - 7/9/18
  
• Unpaid Meal Charge and Debt Collection Procedure - 5/7/18
  This template can be used to develop a district-specific policy/procedure for the meal payment process, allowing meal charges, notification of negative balances and payment collection process.
• Meal Payment Reminders and Student Fees - 8/29/14
  Message from the Commissioner.
•  - 2/11/14