Free/Reduced lunch is based on gross but many families make far less on their net income making it difficult to sustain book rental and lunch fees. There should be a federal/local requirement to offer a hot lunch substitute when funds are forgotten or cannot be made at such time including a weeks credit as a lot of families are paid bi-weekly. NO KID LEFT BEHIND OR HUNGRY. The current policy below.
All full price pricing policies for school meals are matters of local discretion. This includes decisions about whether or not to extend credit to children who forget their meal money or whether or not to provide an alternate meal to such children. Therefore, a school could decide not to provide meals to children who must pay the full price for their meals but do not have the money to do so.