Elementary kids used to get a hot lunch in Carbon County district whether they paid or not — now that has to change

For years, elementary students in Carbon School District were assured a hot meal regardless of whether their parents had remembered to pay for school lunches.

Beginning this fall, however, students in the rural Utah county who fall behind on payments will get a sack lunch instead.

“We literally have parents who have never paid for the students’ lunches the entire time they have attended elementary school,” Carbon School District child nutrition director Patti Rigby said in a statement. “This fall, there will be some surprised parents when we change things.”

The new policy doesn’t affect students who qualify and have applied for free meals, only those whose family incomes mean they should pay. 

Forced to deal with nearly $47,000 in lunch fees owed by district parents, Rigby said students with unpaid balances will now receive a lunch that includes a 4-inch hoagie bun with 2 ounces of cheese, fruit, vegetables and milk. 

“Every kid, pretty much, likes cheese sandwiches,” Rigby told The Salt Lake Tribune. “Unless the child chooses not to eat something they’re served, they should not go hungry.”

The district’s nutrition program, Rigby said, has come close to operating in the red, with some parents owing hundreds of dollars. The district began sending lunch debts to collection agencies eight years ago, she said, but the trickle of recouped revenue was outpaced by newly accruing deficits.

The alternative meals will cost 35 cents, compared to the $1.80 to $2.20 for a full-priced lunch, Rigby said, slowing the drain on district resources while families catch up on fees.

“We have to find a way to get our debts covered,” Rigby said. “We’re losing [money] at a faster pace than we’re gaining, so it’s time.”

Public school meals are part of the National School Lunch Program, which includes federal nutritional requirements and reimbursement for students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches, based on household income levels.

In Carbon School District, 46 percent of students qualify for free or lower-cost lunches, with the remainder expected to pay full price for meals. 

But Superintendent Lance Hatch said families have run up substantial tabs for their children’s meals. He said the new policy is intended to ease those financial pressures while still providing daytime nutrition for students.

“Our focus is just to make sure that every child eats a good meal every day,” Hatch said. “Even if these parents never pay again, they’re still going to have a good lunch that meets all the nutritional requirements.”

Rigby said administrators were aware of the growing burden of delinquent fees, but new federal regulations and a federal audit of the district’s nutrition program catalyzed action on outstanding lunch debts.

She said middle and high school students were previously allowed to miss up to seven lunch payments before being denied meal service, based on the expectation that teenagers were old enough to prepare and bring their own lunches from home if necessary.

But new policies require that an alternative meal be offered, at minimum, to students of any age regardless of their account balance, Rigby said.

The district also is unable to excuse outstanding debt, Rigby said, because that would be unfair to families who are up to date on meal payments.

“We just can’t randomly write off debts,” Rigby said. “That’s a federal regulation.”

In addition to the alternative lunches, Hatch said the district will work this year to help families reduce their lunch debts. Payment plans are available that will allow children to eat hot meals while deficits are paid off, he said, and an upcoming fundraising campaign — including a 5K run — will encourage private donors to help families offset what they owe. 

“Some of these families that have huge balances could get some help there,” Hatch said.