Lunch Charging Procedures

Meal accounts for students should be consistently funded throughout the school year to avoid students needing to charge for a meal. However, the Board recognizes that an occasional emergency may make it necessary to charge for a meal. Families needing assistance to apply for free or reduced lunch should contact the Plainfield Community School Corporations Director of Food Service. 

The Board’s policy and Superintendent’s procedure related to meal charges shall be distributed in writing to all households at the start of each school year and to households transferring to the school or Corporation during the school year. Additionally, the Board’s policy and Superintendent’s procedure related to meal charges shall be distributed to all Corporation staff responsible for policy enforcement, including Corporation food service employees, accounting staff, and all other staff involved in enforcing any aspect of the meal charge policy. This information can also be found about this procedure can also be found on  https://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/page/new-food-services. 

The Corporation’s meal charging procedure is as follows: 

• Significant negative lunch account balances shall not be permitted. A significant negative lunch account balance is any balance owed in excess of $10.00;

   

• If a student has a significant negative lunch account balance, s/he shall be provided an alternate meal at a reduced price recommended by the Superintendent, the cost of which shall continue to accrue to his/her negative lunch account balance;

   

• No student shall be permitted to charge any à la carte food or beverage items;

   

• Parents/guardians will be notified via the Corporation’s point of sale software and/or Parent Square once a student reaches a negative balance;

   

• After accruing $10.00 in meal charges, school cafeteria managers will make two attempts to contact parents/guardians to remind them that their student’s meal account balance is in the negative and that it needs to be paid immediately;

   

• Building principals may attempt to call parents/guardians to reiterate the school cafeteria manager’s message if parents/guardians have been unresponsive to the manager’s two calls; and

   

• After accruing $25.00 in meal charges, students’ meal privileges may be stopped unless otherwise approved by the superintendent; and or designee.

   

• Unpaid meal balances may be turned over to collections after thirty (30) days.

   

• Student meal accounts are expected to be prepaid before meal service begins. 

  • Debit or credit card Funds may be applied to a student’s lunch account by debit or credit card using an online processor. This may be accessed thru the school’s website: https://plainfield.familyportal.cloud

  • Cash or checks

    1. Students in grades K-5 may bring money to school in a sealed envelope marked lunch, with the child’s name and student ID number on the outside of the envelope.

    2. Students in grades 6-12 may pay with cash or check by depositing their money in designated mailboxes thru out the school building.  Envelopes will be provided. 

    3. No change is given at any grade level.

     

The superintendent may develop administrative guidelines to implement this policy.

Inactive Lunch Accounts

A lunch account becomes inactive after student withdrawal from school. An inactive lunch account that has a positive balance of $5.00 or less may be receipted back into the school lunch donation fund where the School Lunch Program funds are maintained. An inactive lunch account that has a nominal negative account balance of $5.00 or less may be offset against the positive balances in the Fund; provided, however, that if the parent requests and can document entitlement to the positive balance in the account within six months from the date the student becomes inactive, the parent is entitled to a refund of that amount.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail:
   U.S. Department of Agriculture
   Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
   1400 Independence Avenue, SW
   Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. fax:
   (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. email:
   program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.