GCS Takes Steps to Minimize Charged Meals Balance
Alternate meal will be provided to help avoid increased charges for families

Greensboro, N.C. – GCS schools will resume the charged meal plan authorized by the Board of Education in June 2012, the school district announced Tuesday.  

During the pandemic, federal waivers allowed all students to eat school meals for free, regardless of their financial status. Those waivers expired during the summer. The district has processed nearly 16,000 applications for free and reduced-price meals, and families may still apply for federal meal benefits at www.lunchapplication.com. 

The charged meal plan, which will resume in January, allows schools to serve an alternate meal to students who do not qualify for the free and reduced-price meal program — once those students have charged the value of five breakfasts and five lunches, which currently totals $19.25. The alternate meal consists of fruit and/or vegetable choices from that day’s menu, milk and/or water and a roll.  

More than 30,000 GCS students are enrolled in 66 schools that participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a federal program that allows all students to eat for free if 40% qualify for benefits through other programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  

Since the waivers ended, GCS students in non-CEP schools have amassed about $111,627 in meal debt. The district has collected about $6,750 in donations for charged meal balances. If you’d like to make a donation, click here.