5 ways to manage school meal debt

Getting families to fill out free and reduced-price meal applications has only gotten harder since the U.S. Department of Agriculture waivers that allowed schools to serve universal free meals during the height of the pandemic expired.

During the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference in Denver last week, Kokeeta Wilder, food service director for Fayette County Public Schools in Fayetteville, Ga., shared some of the ways her district is working to reduce meal debt and encourage families to fill out free and reduced meal applications. 

Here are five ways her team stays on top of school meal charges. 

1. Look at existing internal procedures 

When Wilder first started at Fayette County, the district did not have a meal charge policy. While working to develop one, Wilder looked at what nearby districts were doing and considered internal policies Fayette already had, including those for fees around late library materials and missing Chromebooks. 

“Look at other internal procedures to see what they're doing in your district, so you can count on and be in line with that,” she said.  

2. Go digital during back-to-school night 

Back-to-school night is a great opportunity to ask parents and guardians to fill out free and reduced-price meal applications, said Wilder. While the nutrition team always makes paper applications available during the event, they also hang posters around the school with QR codes that link directly to the application online. 

In addition, they set up a station with Chromebooks that parents or guardians can use to fill out an application, and a member of the nutrition team is on hand should anyone need assistance.

3. Make it as easy as possible to reach parents 

Constant communication is required to stay on top of meal charges, said Wilder. To facilitate easier communication between the nutrition team and families, the district’s payment software allows employees working the cash register to press a button on the register to automatically email a student’s family if their meal balance is running low.  

“That's a really good option for us, and we take advantage of that,” she said. 

4. Break down language barriers 

For some families, a language barrier may be the reason they aren’t filling out a meal application. Wilder has found that having a staff member who speaks a particular family’s language talk to the parents has helped with getting applications submitted. 

“I have a list of all of our employees and what other languages they speak, and so if I need assistance reaching out to those families, I will have a staff member reach out to those families and have those conversations with them,” she said. “Nine out of 10 times, that has worked tremendously to get those families to fill out the application.”

5. Encourage donations during Giving Tuesday 

For districts that have racked up meal debt, donations from the community can be one way to reduce outstanding balances, Wilder said. One of the best days to reach out for local help is Giving Tuesday, a day known for making charitable donations that is held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. 

“People are looking for ways to give away money at that time of the year because they're looking for the tax break,” she said. “So, if you advertise it and push it on your social media and give parents information, they'll contact you about donating.”