School Lunch and Breakfast Program/Generally 3-84

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Policy 3-84

BUSINESS AND NONINSTRUCTIONAL OPERATIONS

School Lunch and Breakfast Program/Generally

1. Purpose and Objective

   The School Board will attempt to provide facilities for serving breakfast and lunch to all students at school, and for employees of the School Division. Cafeteria food shall be sold to students and others at a price which will pay the cost of maintaining the cafeteria.

   Breakfast and lunches shall constitute balanced meals provided at moderate cost to the student.

   The cost of meals to school employees shall be higher than the cost to students and shall reflect the actual cost to the School Division of preparing and serving said meals.

2. Operations

   The School Board is responsible for any school lunch program operated on school property. The School Board shall fix the price of meals and authorizes the Superintendent or designee to determine the adequacy, safety, and conformation to all applicable legal standards and statutes, of all facilities apparatus, and procedures used.

   The School Board directs the Superintendent to subscribe to the federal School Lunch and Breakfast Programs which provide balanced hot meals. In order to participate, the School Board Chair and the Superintendent are authorized to certify that the School Division complies with state and federal regulations.

3. School Meals Availability

   Lunch and breakfast under the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U. S. Department of Agriculture shall be made available pursuant to such programs to any student who requests such a meal, regardless of whether such student has the money to pay for the meal or owes money for meals previously provided, unless the student’s parent/guardian has provided written permission for the School Division to withhold such meal from the student.

   Under no circumstance will a student be asked to throw away or discard a meal after it has been served to him/her due to meal account payment hardships, nor will the student be asked to do chores or other work to pay for such meals, wear a wristband or hand stamp, or be the recipient of any type of “lunch-shaming”.

4. Unpaid Meal Charges

   The Superintendent or designee is authorized to collect payment for meals provided pursuant to this program. Any information relating to a school meal debt must be communicated to the student’s parents/legal guardians. Such communication may be made by a letter addressed to the parent to be sent home with the student; however, a nongovernmental third-party debt collector may not be utilized to collect on such debt. The School Board will not file a lawsuit against a student or the student’s parents/legal guardians because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.

   The Superintendent or designee is authorized to solicit and receive any donation or other funds for the purpose of eliminating or offsetting any school meal debt at any time and shall use any such funds solely for such purpose.

   No student may be denied the opportunity to participate in any extracurricular school activity because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.

Editor's Note

See also Virginia Beach City Public Schools "Office of Food Services Operations Manual."

Legal Reference

Code of Virginia § 22.1-79.7:1, as amended. School meals; availability to students.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-79.7, as amended. School meal policies; donations.

Virginia Board of Education Regulations Governing School Lunch Sale of Food Items, 8 VAC 20-290-10, as amended.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Rules and Regulations, National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, 7 C.F.R. Parts 210 and 220, as amended.

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, 42 U.S.C. § 1751, as amended.

Adopted by School Board: February 16, 1993
Amended by School Board: August 19, 2014
Amended by School Board: June 23, 2020
Amended by School Board: May 10, 2022
Amended by School Board: July 12, 2022