Meal Charge Policy

Meal Charges 

The Eau Claire Area School District has a pre-payment system for school meals; however, we recognize that, on occasion, students may forget to bring meal money to school.  Unpaid charges are the responsibility of parents/guardians and place a financial strain on the Food & Nutrition Department.  We understand that mistakes happen, but meal payments are important to our program.  Our goals regarding student meal charges are to:

• Be consistent regarding charges and payment collections of charges.
• Treat all students with dignity in the serving line regarding meal accounts.
• Support positive interactions and outcomes with district staff, district business policies, students and parent/guardian to the maximum extent possible.
• Establish processes that are age appropriate.
• Encourage parent/guardian to assume the responsibility of meal payments.
• Promote self-responsibility of the student.

The Food and Nutrition Department will notify parents/guardians regarding low or outstanding balances.

1. Non-students and adults who are permitted to purchase meals or other items through the food service program are not permitted to charge items that would result in a negative balance.
2. If a student has no money in their account, ala carte items will not be sold to the student until a positive meal balance has been reached.
3. Payment reminders will be given to students.  Reminders to parents may be received via phone call, email, texts, or letters sent home.
4. Families are responsible for any meal charges incurred and will continue to receive payment reminders.
5. Student accounts that incur a significant negative balance will be notified and a parent/guardian must contact the Food and Nutrition Department office at 715-852-3061 or via email at SchoolNutrition@ecasd.us to establish a payment plan.  If no response is received, a school counselor, social worker, and/or building principal will contact the parent/guardian to discuss further.
6. If a negative balance accrues and a payment plan is not established, completion of a Free and Reduced meal application will be strongly encouraged for meal service to continue. A school staff member will personally reach out to the parent/guardian.
7. USDA and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction state schools are not required to provide a meal to paid or reduced-price students with negative account balances.

Free meal eligibility status allows a student to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch every day, however, balances incurred prior to application approval remain the responsibility of the parent/guardian.  Families may apply for free or reduced-price meals anytime during the school year and are encouraged to reapply if household income or household size changes throughout the school year.

Milk is only included as a component of a USDA meal.  Components offered to build a complete meal are a meat/meat alternate, fruit, vegetable, grain, and milk.  Students must choose a complete meal that meets USDA requirements for it to qualify as a free or reduced-price meal. Ala carte items, which include milk purchased to drink with a meal brought from home, do not meet the requirement for a complete USDA meal, therefore, a fee for the milk will be charged to the account. 

2026