Lunch Loan Policy

Nutrition Services offers breakfast and lunch in all of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District schools. Our main funding source is revenue from the National School Lunch Program USDA federal funds. Nutrition Services must maintain a responsible financial approach in its operation to remain self-supporting.  Extending lunch loans to students within the district can unduly burden the program. Therefore, the following Lunch Loan policy applies to meals provided for purchase:

Charge Policy: There is no charging allowed for secondary students and adults.

There is no charging of A la carte' items. 

As a courtesy, elementary students are allowed a maximum of two (2) meal charges.  The maximum meal charge allowed is $7.00 for full pay students and .80¢ for reduced qualified students.  After that they are offered a cold pack only for no more than three (3) days.  Students cannot charge meals starting at the end of April of each school year, for the rest of that school year.   

For information, contact your school’s kitchen manager or Nutrition Services at 451-1004 ext. 16601, or email foodservice@k12northstar.org.

Full Pay Meal Prices 

• $2.00 Elementary Breakfast 
• $3.50 Elementary Lunch
• $3.75 Elementary Lunch for 7th & 8th graders at K-8 schools.  Also applies to 6/7/8 grade combined classes. 
• $2.25 Secondary Breakfast 
• $3.75 Secondary Lunch 
• $4.75 Visitor or Non-Student Breakfast 
• $6.50 Visitor or Non-Student Lunch 
  
• $1.00 for milk at elementary and secondary schools
  
• Secondary Ala Carte Items
  

Reduced Meal Prices

• Free Elementary and Secondary Breakfast
• .40¢ Elementary and Secondary Lunch
  
  

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was signed by President Obama in December 2010. This legislation requires many changes to the National School Lunch Program regulations, one of which is directly related to the price that must be paid by those students who do not qualify to receive meals at the free or reduced-price rates. Section 205, Equity in School Lunch Pricing, requires school districts to “…ensure that schools are providing the same level of support for lunches served to students who are not eligible for free or reduced-price lunches (i.e.. paid lunches) as they are for lunches served to students eligible for free lunches.” In plain language, this requires school districts to generate in local revenue from a paid lunch the same amount of money that the school districts receive in federal reimbursement for a free lunch.

In addition to this legislative requirement, we have seen a dramatic rise in food prices and will continue to do so over the next several years due to increasing transportation costs and the new meal requirements the United States Department of Agriculture implemented on July 1, 2012. We continue to dedicate ourselves to providing quality nutritious meals that the students want to consume and are diligently watching the markets and doing what we can to control our costs.

Our students are our greatest resource. It is our responsibility to provide students with choices that mirror those they will be making outside of school and a solid foundation in moderation and balance.

Nutrition Services reserves the right to reject payments via personal check if prior returned checks are received on an account.

Both positive and negative monetary balances on a student’s meal account at the end of the school year will automatically roll over to the new school year. A student’s account balance will also carry over if a student transfers to a different school within the district.  If parents would like to have money refunded to them, please contact your school’s kitchen manager or contact Nutrition Services at foodservice@k12northstar.org (907) 451-1004. 

We encourage you to make payments online at https://www.schoolcafe.com. 

USDA information on unpaid meal charges:  https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/unpaid-meal-charges

Thank you for your support of Nutrition Services!