Purpose: To provide food services to all students
Procedure: The Morris Hills Regional District contracts with a Food Service Management Company, Pomptonian, to deliver food services to all students.
Application for Participation in Child Nutrition Program:
During the summer preceding the beginning of each school year, the Business Administrator completes the Application with the Bureau of Child Nutrition to participate in the Free and Reduced Meal Program.
Direct Certification:
Students eligible for TANF and/or Food Stamps may be directly certified for free lunch by the State. At least three times a year, the District compares its student data file to the State’s TANF and Food Stamp File using the SNEARS program. In these cases, the Business Office sends a letter, from the SNEARS program, to the household and notifies them of their child’s lunch status before school begins and periodically throughout the school year if necessary. In these instances, no lunch applications are necessary.
Free and Reduced Meal Application:
The District uses a web based application system, My School Apps, to process free and reduced meal applications. There is a link to this application on the District website.
The Principals notify all families that the application system is available in their opening communication to families each year.
For families that choose not to use the online application system, the Business Administrator provides applications for free and reduced meals to each school before the opening of school. The schools post these forms on their website. Families are notified about the availability of this form in the school’s summer mailing. Completed applications are then forwarded to the Business Office.
Determining Eligibility for Participation in the Child Nutrition Program:
The District utilizes a software program for lunch applications, Nutrikids POS System, which determines eligibility in accordance with applicable regulations established by the Department of Agriculture.
Paper applications are entered into this system by the Assistant to the Board Secretary. Online applications entered into My School Apps are imported into the POS System by the Assistant as well.
After determination, letters are sent to all applicants advising them of their status (i.e. free, reduced or denied). All applications are maintained in the Business Office.
Master Eligibility List:
A master eligibility list is generated by the POS System. This is a comprehensive list of all students who filed an application and indicates their status as free, reduced or denied. The master eligibility list is maintained for each school (location) as well as district-wide as required per regulations.
Civil Rights Compliance:
Per regulation, a Civil Rights Compliance is completed each year. Using the October 15th student data, lists are maintained by school, broken down by ethnic group and further broken down by status of free, reduced and denied.
Verification:
By November 15th, the required percentage of applications deemed eligible for free and reduced are verified. These applications are chosen at random and applicants are asked to provide name and social security number for each adult listed on the application as well as proof of income.
Daily Deposits:
Deposits are prepared daily, by school and reconciled to the register tapes by food service management company personnel. They are then put into a locked bank bag and brought to the bank. Deposit totals are reconciled to the bank statement and the POS system report of daily sales by the BA and the Treasurer of School Monies.
Establishing Cafeteria Prices:
Each year, the Board of Education sets prices for food items. Every effort is made to set prices that are affordable for students but enable the food service program to operate without a contribution from board funds.
Voucher Certification/Submission:
Each month, Food Service Management Company personnel enter meal counts into the Department of Agriculture meal reimbursement system in SNEARS (School Nutrition Electronic Application System). These meal counts are then verified by the Business Office and then Certified so that State reimbursement can be made.
Commodities:
The district participates in the commodities program offered by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.