LEBANON CUSD #9 OFFERS CEP LUNCH PROGRAM FOR 2024-2025

WHAT IS CEP?

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) meal service option that allows schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) in high poverty areas to offer meals at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. All students enrolled in CEP schools are able to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost.

At CEP certified schools, free and reduced meal applications are no longer necessary; however, to maintain other benefits for both our students and the schools, all families will be encouraged to complete an Alternative Income Eligibility form, which will be available this fall.

FOOD SERVICE MEAL CHARGES

It is the District’s intent to ensure all students have access to healthy and nutritious food regardless of income levels. The District acknowledges that at times there may be financial barriers that prevent families from being able to pay for meals in a timely manner. As a result, the District has established the following framework to outline its procedures for the management of food service meal charges.

OBTAINING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Families in financial need will be provided an application to determine eligibility for free and reduced book/fee waiver. Applications are available by contacting the student's school building or district office or they are also available online.

 LUNCH CHARGES

Although our district qualifies for CEP for the 24-25 SY, students will still have to pay for ala carte items or second servings of an entree. The District does not permit students to charge any amounts for a la carte items or for seconds of an entree. Parents/Guardians are responsible for paying all meal charges on the student's account. Parents wishing to not allow extra purchases for their student, can request so by contacting the District’s Food Services Director, or cafeteria lead at the respective school building.

Employees/Contracted Staff are not permitted under any circumstances to charge meals or other items on account.

COMMUNICATION

The District will provide written notification to all parents at the beginning of each school year of these procedures through the annual notification to all parents. In addition, the District will send monthly notifications through Mosaic to all families via email when their balances become negative, or for outstanding fines and fees owed.

Alternatively, families receive low-balance alert notifications through their family access account on My School Bucks. You may opt-out of this option by logging into your My School Bucks account. This low balance alert sends an email to the main family contact when the student balance falls below $0.00. Families also have the ability to pay their foodservice charges online through the same family access portal.

COLLECTIONS PROCESS

Returned payments will be removed from the available food service balances for affected students. Families with more than $25.00 in total outstanding fines and fees will be subject to the District’s collections process. The district will send written notices at 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days past due. The final notice will include a communication that the charges will be sent to the District’s collections agency if payment arrangements are not made prior to 120 days past due.

Families can contact the individual school buildings or the District Office to make payment arrangements for outstanding student fees or Food Services Department for outstanding food service charges. When setting up payment plans, the District will consider the family's available resources, and the amount of the outstanding debt to determine the payment levels and time period for which payments are to be due.

REMAINING FOOD SERVICE BALANCE

Upon withdrawal from the district, (Seniors that are graduating or students that are transferring out) amounts remaining on account for students over $5.00 will be automatically refunded to the family by the District Office. Prior to refunding any credit balances owed, the District Office will check to ensure no other household family member has any negative balances within foodservice. The District Office will also check to ensure no outstanding student fees are still owed by the student. If fees are still owed, the foodservice refund will be applied to outstanding fines and fees, and any remaining balance will be refunded to the primary guardian on record.

MEDICAL AUTHORITY MODIFIED MEAL REQUEST

Students that will need a modification to their menus for breakfast and/or lunch due to medical reasons, may fill out the Medical Authority Modified Meal Request and return to their school office/cafeteria.