Meal Pricing

• Prior to the start of SY 24-25, all CEs must determine the price for adult meals.
• All CEs who charge for student meals must determine the student meal prices.

Next Steps:

• Get on the Board Meeting agenda for approval of meal prices.
• Update all adult and student meal price postings. i.e. TXUNPS site application(s), menus, websites, POS system, etc.

H.B. No. 1 General Appropriations Act Eighty-Eighth Legislature

Sec. 17.19. Department of Agricultural Grant Funding ...... IX-111

• Update all announcements for the reduced-priced student's breakfast as 0.00.

• How much is the per-breakfast reimbursement?

  For each reduced-price breakfast claimed, schools will be reimbursed the amount they would have normally charged students for reduced-price breakfast as indicated in the school’s site application, up to a maximum of $0.30 per meal.

Resource: Reduced-Price Breakfast Now Free webpage

• USDA released the SY 24-25 reimbursement rates!
• Calculate the breakfast & lunch meal prices for adults with the updated reimbursement rates.

• CEs that charge a student meal price can choose Method 1 or Method 2 for the adult meal price. However, when choosing Method 1 (incorporates highest student paid price) the total must be greater than all reimbursement/supplemental payments plus USDA Foods rate of assistance (Method 2 total).

• Severe Need Rates - Only required if you receive severe need reimbursement.

• See ARM Section 19, Meal Pricing guidance
  
• Meal Pricing Worksheet_Adult Price also located under forms on squaremeals.org
  

Each year, CEs must evaluate their lunch pricing structure and determine if the cost and income from lunch meals are equitably distributed among free, reduced-price, and paid meals—Paid Lunch Equity (PLE). CEs that determine that their lunch pricing structure is not equitably distributed must take action to remedy the inequity—increase meal prices, provide additional funds from nonfederal sources, or a combination of both.

CEs or sites that have implemented a non-pricing policy that applies to all students are not required to complete PLE requirements—this includes the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), Provision 2 (P2), or other non-pricing, universal free feeding programs that provide reimbursable meals at no charge to all students.

Further, for SY 2024-2025, SFAs with a positive or zero balance in the nonprofit school food service account as of June 30, 2023, are exempt from PLE pricing requirements found at 7 CFR 210.14(e).

• ESC6 SY 24-25 Paid Lunch Equity Tool newsletter

• Guidance on PLE requirements, see Section 19, Meal Pricing of the Administrator’s Reference Manual (ARM) located at

https://squaremeals.org/Programs/NationalSchoolLunchProgram/PolicyARM.aspx.

PLE Tool Issues and Errors:

Functionality issues and errors have been reported with the recently released Paid Lunch Equity tool for districts using older versions of Microsoft Excel, dating back to at least the 2016 version (TDA has not received any notification about versions later than 2016).
USDA has indicated that a version compatible with older versions will not be released.

PLE Tool Troubleshooting:

You may open the PLE Tool in Google Drive to prevent error messages. However, you may not have the drop-down arrow available on the SY 24-25 Report tab. Suggestion: type your selection on the box, save & print.

Revisit the Charge Policy. Are staff trained to follow the policy? Does the policy require updates?

Resources:

• Charge Policy - Charge policies outline how school nutrition program contracting entities (CEs) handle providing meals to students when payment cannot be collected at the point of service. Charge policies should be reasonable, well defined and maintain the integrity and dignity of students and households to minimize harm to the student.
  
• ARM Section 19, Meal Pricing "Special Guidance, Students with Unpaid Meal Charges" and "Communicating the CE’s Charge Policy"
• ARM Section 16, Financial System "Debt Period Options for Student Unpaid Meal or Milk Charges"

FINANCIAL IMPACT A contracting entity (CE) may carry a student’s delinquent unpaid balance for the academic school year in which the debt occurred and one additional year in certain circumstances. Unpaid debt that exceeds the allowed delinquent debt period is then reclassified as bad debt. All bad debt must be cleared by July 1 of each year using non-school-nutrition-program funds. The CE may continue to attempt to collect the debt, but school-nutrition-program resources cannot be used for this purpose. Any payments received after the debt has been cleared must accrue to the general fund. Please see the Administrator’s Reference Manual (ARM) for details at www.SquareMeals.org.

Cindy Scott

CN Program Specialist

936-435-8234

cscott@esc6.net

Dina Herrick

CN Program Specialist

936-435-8244

dherrick@esc6.net

Julie A. Smith

CN Program Specialist

936-435-8238

jasmith@esc6.net

Tona Holcombe

CN Program Administrative Assistant

936-435-8236

tholcombe@esc6.net

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. This program is funded by the USDA.

July 2024