Meal Counting and Claiming

1. Meal Counting and Claiming July 2010

2. What is Meal Counting? • Cashier: • Observes tray • Determines if the food items = reimbursable meal • Finalizes the transaction by ringing meals in by student number • (Computer, roster, or other approved meal counting procedures)

3. What is Meal Claiming? • Daily Counts per meal service • Added = monthly counts for individual school site • Sent to district office who sends it electronically to state department

4. When is a student eligible for free or reduced meals? • Free and Reduced application • Direct certification, homeless, runaway or migrant list

5. Meal Counting How do you accept payment from students, teachers, and staff members? At the register? Before a meal? Online? Others?

6. Policies • Do you know your district policies? • Charging Meals • Adults may not charge • A la carte items should not be charged • Bad Check • Change Cash/Fund • Denying a Meal • K-3 & special needs children may not be denied a meal

7. Point Of ServiceMeal Count Review • Meals must be counted: • Student walks through line with all required components with proper serving size on their tray. • The computer recognizes students’ ID number and correctly identifies their eligibility.

8. Point Of ServiceMeal Count ReviewFood Based Menu Planning • Breakfast: • Plan and Offer 4 components • Not Offer versus Serve • 4 components on tray • Offer versus Serve • At least 3 of the 4 components on tray

9. Point Of ServiceMeal Count ReviewFood Based Menu Planning • Lunch: • Plan and Offer 5 components • Not Offer versus Serve • 5 components on tray • Offer versus Serve • At least 3 of the 5 components on tray

10. Point Of ServiceMeal Count Review • Snack: • Plan 2 components • Must take 2 components to be reimbursed as a snack

11. Claiming After School Snacks Is it Area Eligible? • Area Eligible • Claimed as all Free

12. Claiming After Schoool Snacks Is it Non-Area Eligible? • Non-Area Eligible • Claimed according to Free, Reduced, or Paid status of student receiving snack • Snack Price • Reduced $.15 • Paid determined by the local district

13. Claiming After School Snacks What is your documentation for snack? • Enrichment Activity • Production Record • Point of Service • Roster • Students are checked off as they receive the 2 components • Computer • Students come through serving line, receive 2 components, and enter number into computer

14. Claiming After School Snacks • Snacks for Head Start must be served after the school day to be reimbursable. • Snacks during the school day may be claimed under the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program.

15. Quiz 1. The students put their student number through the Point of Sale system before they go through the serving line. Is this reimbursable? No Cashier observes tray to determine if it is reimbursable.

16. Quiz 2. The milk cooler is located after the Point of Sale system. Is this reimbursable? No All components must be available before the point of service.

17. Quiz 3. At breakfast, a student comes through the line with a biscuit and a milk. Offer vs Serve is used for Breakfast. Is this reimbursable? Yes A milk and two breads (2 oz) is reimbursable.

18. Quiz 4. At lunch, a student gets green beans, pineapples, and a milk. Offer vs Serve is used for lunch. Is this reimbursable? Yes, if using Offer vs Serve 3 components with proper serving size were taken

19. Quiz 5. At lunch, a student gets green beans, pineapples, and a milk. Offer VS Serve is not used for lunch. No All components were not selected.

20. Quiz 6. At breakfast, a student comes through the line with just a sausage biscuit. Is this reimbursable? No Why? Although it is three components (1 meat and 2 breads), it does not meet the meal pattern requirement for breakfast because juice or milk was not included.

21. Quiz 7. Before the Head Start students come into the cafeteria, the staff prepares all of their plates and places them on the table where they are going to sit, then rings in the students according to the attendance list. Is this allowable? No Meal must be counted at point of service.

22. ACCEPTABLE Meal Counting System • All meal counting and claiming systems must provide an accurate point of service count of:  Reimbursable Meals – Meet the meal pattern  One reimbursable meal per child per meal  Second meals are counted as a la carte or at an established meal price

23. ACCEPTABLE Meal Counting System • All meal counting and claiming systems must provide an accurate point of service count:  By Category  Each day for each meal  Without revealing student eligibility

24. UNACCEPTABLE Meal Counting Systems • Counts taken in the morning in the classroom or any other location before the meal is served • Attendance counts • Tray or plate counts • Adults are not paying for their meals

25. UNACCEPTABLE Meal Counting Systems • Count the number of tickets/tokens SOLD • Count the number of meals paid for in advance • Use the number of Free and Reduced-Price eligible students instead of the number actually served

26. UNACCEPTABLE Meal Counting Systems • Subtract the count of one category from a total count to obtain another eligibility category count • Counts taken that make a student's eligibility category obvious • Roster System using an outdated roster. • Rosters should be printed weekly.

27. UNACCEPTABLE Meal Counting Systems • Counts taken at the beginning of the serving line without checking that the components on the tray count as a reimbursable meal • Any count of meals served by category that is not accurate

28. UNACCEPTABLE Meal Counting Systems • Delivery counts of meals • The number of meals delivered to a school is not necessarily the number of meals actually served. • The number of snacks prepared for after-school snack program is not necessarily the number of snacks actually served.

29. Quiz 1. A teacher comes and gets the reimbursable meals packaged for the students in detention and gives you the roster with the names checked to put into the POS system. Is this allowable? No Meals must be counted at the point of service. The teacher should check the students off as they get the meal.

30. Quiz 2. At the alternative school, the students come in and out everyday. So, the free students nod their head to the cashier to indicate that they are free. Is this allowable? No No overt identification of students receiving Free or Reduced-Priced meals may be used.

31. Quiz 3. The collection procedure in the online application has a different procedure than is actually occurring at the site. Is this allowable? No The collection procedure must be used that is identified in the annual agreement with the State Agency

32. Quiz 4. The site information on Schedule A states that the Offer vs. Serve option is being used but the staff makes the students take everything offered for the day. Is this allowable? No With Offer vs Serve students can decline a specified number of components.

33. ACCEPTABLE Meal Counting System • Ways to ensure an Acceptable Meal Counting System.

34. Daily Evaluations  Daily Edit Checks from POS system • Edit Check • Free count ≤ free count on file • Reduced count ≤ reduced count on file • Paid count ≤ [daily attendance – (free + reduced)]

35. Daily Evaluations • Point of sale (POS) = school data daily • Transfers • Withdrawals • New students

36. Recordkeeping Daily sales reports Daily edit checks from POS system Roster totals, cash register tapes, ticket/token count Backing up computer system Daily bank deposit slips

37. Edit Check Problems(Red Flags) • Meal Counts • exceed the number of eligible students in attendance • same every day • maximum number of eligible students eat every day

38. Edit Check Problems(Red Flags) • Meal Counts • same as the number of meals delivered every day • Example: In school suspension students/ alternative schools

39. Recommended at the School Cafeteria • Compare • Free, Reduced, and Paid Eligible to Actual Meal Counts for Free, Reduced, and Paid • Breakfast Counts from day to day • Lunch Counts from day to day • After school snacks from day to day

40. Claim for Reimbursement • Daily meals • by category are totaled for the month to generate a monthly claim for reimbursement.

41. Cashier Assessment • Can the cashier • identify a reimbursable meal? • review the menu before the meal service? • leave the cashier station unattended? • Is a trained backup cashier available?

42. Cashier Assessment • Does the cashier know the procedures for handling: • Misplaced IDs, Forgotten Numbers • Visiting student meals • Adult meals • Second meals • Charging meals

43. Cash Handling Procedures Currency        Count                Total $100’s          ______        =    _____ $50’s            ______        =    _____ $20’s            ______        =    _____ $10’s            ______        =    _____ $ 5’s             ______        =    _____ $  1’s            ______        =    _____ Coins 50               ______        =    _____ 25               ______        =    _____ 10               ______        =    _____ 5                 ______        =    _____ 1                 ______        =    _____             TOTAL Cash        =    ______             Total Checks       =    ______         TOTAL Drawer        =    ______ ______________ _______________ Signature Signature Date__________ • Cashier • Removes change cash/fund • Counts drawer • Records coins and bills • Counts checks • Totals money • 2nd Person • Counts drawer • Records coins and bills • Counts checks • Totals money • Enter into Computer

44. Depositing Cash Procedures • Manager (or designated person) • Combines money from drawers • Counts money • Fills out deposit slip with checks • Puts money, checks, & deposit slip into bank bag

45. Depositing Cash Procedures • Bank depositor • Are they bonded by the district? • Takes money to bank daily to ensure timely deposit • Manager • Monitor bank date stamp on deposit slip to match day of deposit • Example: Tuesday January 14 stamp matches Tuesday cash deposit on daily report

46. FAQ - Audit Questions? • Does the cashier have a change cash/ fund? • If not, how does the cashier give change? • If not, where does the money come from?

47. FAQ - Audit Questions, Cont.? • Does the breakfast cashier close out and balance the cash drawer before lunch? -Strongly recommended that the breakfast cashier close out and balance the cash drawer before lunch • If not, make sure the cashier for lunch was the same one for breakfast. Two different people cannot handle the same drawer even in the middle of meal service. • Shortages/overages easier to identify.

48. FAQ - Audit Questions, cont. • Do you charge for extra portions? • Is there an a la carte price list? • What is your charge policy and is it enforced with EVERY student and staff member? - Is it the same as the board policy?

49. FAQ - Audit Questions, Cont.? • What is the procedure when a child does not have any money and they are at the register with their tray? • Does the cashier pull money out of her pocket? • Allow the child to charge? • Take the tray and offer alternative meal?

50. FAQ - Audit Questions, Cont.? • What happens if the computer freezes, power goes out, or computer crashes?