Schools to give cheese sandwiches to students with excessive meal charges

By Madeline Montgomery

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    ATLANTA (WANF) — Starting next week, students in Decatur schools who have unpaid meal charges will get a cheese sandwich and milk instead of a selection of what’s on the lunch menu for the day.

For the past few years, all public school students have been getting free meals due to COVID-19 funds. That ended this school year. Now that families have to pay again, debts are racking up.

City Schools of Decatur (CSD) have a districtwide balance of $88,000, according to a statement from their district spokesperson.

Starting Feb. 2, after a student has charged three meals, they’re stuck with a cheese sandwich and milk instead of the standard menu.

“Few of our families realize this is the alternative many districts choose, but CSD wants to avoid. By offering an alternate, students get a nutritious meal that is financially sustainable for the district,” said Mikkal Hart Murunga, the chief communications officer for the district.

“You are singling out this child or multiple children and saying, ‘Hey, today I’m eating chicken, and you’re eating another cheese sandwich, your parents must not have money to pay for your food,’” said Jasmine Crowe-Houston, a mother herself who is the CEO of a food sustainability company.

Crowe-Houston saw the new procedure and decided to start an online fundraiser to try and pay the district’s balance.

“They told me that the money would go to paying down the highest balances first,” said Crowe-Houston.

”Families are encouraged to contact the school nutrition department to arrange payment plans. Students eligible for free and reduced lunch will not receive alternative meals,” said a statement from the school.

Families at or below 130% of the federal poverty line can get free lunch. Families between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty line can receive a reduced-price lunch.

“Children deserve to have dignity when they’re eating and they don’t need to be shamed at school,” Crowe-Houston said.

Atlanta News First reached out to other metro Atlanta school districts to ask what they do when their students overdraft on their lunch balances. DeKalb County Schools serve a grilled cheese sandwich as an alternative meal. A spokesperson for Gwinnett County Schools said students are served an alternative meal but did not go into detail as to what that was.

Read CSD’s full statement on changes to the meal payment procedure:

City Schools of Decatur (CSD) is committed to offering nutritious meals to our students every day. At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the federal government provided funds for every public school student to receive meals, at no cost, regardless of family income. The program offering meal grants and waivers ended in 2022, and public school districts resumed the regular practice of charging for meals. However, City Schools of Decatur permitted students to continue to receive regular-priced meals at no cost, even if they had a balance on their account. The unpaid lunch fees have resulted in a districtwide balance of $88,000.00, prompting a change in the meal payment procedure.

In 2023, the Board of Education codified its commitment to fiscal sustainability in its “All in Decatur” strategic plan. While some school districts offer no alternative for students with negative meal balances, CSD has selected a fiscally sustainable choice that still provides a nutritious meal. Students may also bring their lunch. The change is not a policy but a procedure meant to discourage the regular practice of charging meals. Families are encouraged to contact the school nutrition department to arrange payment plans. Students eligible for free and reduced lunch will not receive alternative meals.

The new meal payment procedure will come into effect on February 2, 2024, and will include the following guidelines:

· Middle and High school students will have a maximum limit of three charged meals, equivalent to -$10.50 per student for the entire school year.

· Elementary school students will have a maximum limit of three charged meals, equivalent to -$9.75 per student for the entire school year.

· Once these limits are reached, students will be provided an alternative lunch. The alternative lunch will be a cheese sandwich and milk.

· If the debt is not resolved or continues to accumulate, it will be referred to the school counselor.

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