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Should Schools Be Required to Eliminate Transaction Fees for Lunch Payments?
Should Schools Be Required to Eliminate Transaction Fees for Lunch Payments?
Here’s The Scoop
Parents across America feel the financial squeeze as school fees pile up, with many expressing frustration over being “nickel and dimed everywhere right now.” Lisa Chastain, a finance coach and mother of two, voiced her concerns to FOX Business, highlighting the burden these fees place on families.
“The school lunch platforms are convenient but yet another expense we are asked to cover,” Chastain remarked.
This comes on the heels of a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in July, which shed light on the “costly and hard-to-avoid transaction fees” imposed by payment processing companies that handle school lunch payments. The CFPB’s analysis of the 300 largest public school districts in the U.S. revealed that these processors charge an average transaction fee of $2.37, or 4.4% of the total transaction, each time money is added to a payment account.
“Transaction fees and other types of junk fees can take an economic toll on American families just trying to pay for basic school expenses, including school lunch for kids,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stated.
For some relief, families can turn to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), a federal initiative administered by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), offering free or low-cost lunches based on a family’s income, though it requires paperwork.
In a controversial move, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a law in 2023 that provides free school breakfasts and lunches to all students, regardless of their family’s income, eliminating the need for income-based paperwork.
Additionally, some school districts across the country offer free or subsidized lunches, depending on state funding. Chastain mentioned that her children’s school district is among those providing such support.
The National Education Association (NEA) reported in 2021 that there were numerous instances of food service workers having to take hot meals away from students who were unable to pay.
NEA President Becky Pringle told FOX Business, “Fresh, nutritious meals prepared by educators who know our kids by name are within reach. Universal school meals are a win for everyone. It lowers costs for middle-class families and means parents have one less thing to worry about when preparing their children for school.”
Pringle argued that it’s “long past time that we make universal school meals a permanent reality for all,” claiming it boosts academic achievement.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack emphasized that the USDA and schools are committed to nourishing the 30 million children who rely on school meals. He pledged that the USDA would review its policies and work with schools, state agencies, and payment processors to ensure fee-free payment methods are available.
Vilsack also noted that the Biden-Harris administration will continue its efforts to crack down on junk fees that are raising meal costs for families.
As parents grapple with these mounting fees, the debate over how to best support American families and ensure children receive nutritious meals continues to intensify.
What do you think? Let us know by participating in our poll, or join the discussion in the comment section below!
Suz
September 28, 2024 at 7:49 am
Schools are required to teach. Reading writing and math. Parents are required to teach morality and provide for their children’s needs. If you can’t provide then don’t have kids. If you are an illegal parent then you should go back to your home country and educate your children there. What is wrong with a bag lunch. Not schools job to provide food for 30 million kids.
Dave
September 28, 2024 at 10:35 am
I think SUZ has the exact right idea. Parents today are lazy and want the rest of us to support them. It is the government’s fault for ever letting this kind of thinking get started. Politicians give our money away to buy votes.
Jo Co
September 28, 2024 at 4:19 pm
Not the Government’s fault, it’s OUR fault at not following the pay your own way like when I was a young man. If you made a commitment for money or otherwise you were expected to follow thru. It’s not that way today, sad!
Beth Hawley
September 28, 2024 at 12:28 pm
I think that many families cannot afford extra fees and can’t afford the time and effort to provide even a bag lunch because they are working.
Mark
September 28, 2024 at 6:37 pm
Oh,BS. If parents can’t provide even a bag lunch then they should give up their children to adoption. Having a job is no excuse you can’t make your child a bag lunch or the 2.50 for hot lunch. They’re your children if they weren’t at school they’d be home and you’d still have to feed them. If parents don’t pay for their children’s lunch then the taxpayers get stuck support your kids and thats wrong..
Joan
September 28, 2024 at 2:18 pm
The schools should not be furnishing lunch to all children. The children should be taking their lunch. I did or I walked home for lunch. I have to pay taxes for someone else’s kids to go to school, I have to pay for their kids lunch. If the parent’s don’t want to pay the transaction fees then send your kids to school with a sandwich and a twinkie. All just nonsense. If they want to have kids then they need to be responsible parents.
Jerry C.
September 28, 2024 at 6:57 pm
“Transaction fees” and “origination fees” and all the other “fees” used to steal money from consumers should be outlawed, period. One should never have to pay money just to be ALLOWED to pay money!
Cheryl
September 29, 2024 at 10:16 am
The school breakfasts and lunches are the ONLY meals some of these kids get. It’s hard to concentrate and tetsin information when you’re hungry! People complain about so many on welfare, but the ability to pick yourself out of povery starts with a good education base. Give these kids that opportunity so we’ll have productive citizens ingbe long run.