Atlanta parents can use leftover lunch funds to pay needy students' meal debt

ATLANTA — A new Atlanta Public Schools program will allow families to pay off the lunch debt of other students, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

This school year, the district is serving free breakfast and lunch to all students at 77 APS schools, including every traditional school and all of the charter schools that use the district's food service provider.

That means all students can eat school meals at no cost, regardless of family income. The district will receive federal reimbursement for the meals.

Some students have leftover money on their school meal accounts or unpaid meal debt from last school year.

Families with existing funds on their meal accounts can receive a full refund or donate their unused money to help pay off other students' unpaid balance from last year. They also can donate the leftover money to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

The district announced the refund and donation options on Thursday.

Parents can ask for a refund or donate funds using an online form on the APS website. 

The district said that all donations made to another student's meal account or to the food bank will be tax deductible.

Cox Media Group