National Backlash For Cherry Hill's Revised School Lunch Policy

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Students in the Cherry Hill Public School District can’t be denied lunch for accrued debt under a new policy approved by the Board of Education earlier this month. But the revised policy is still drawing criticism from parents, students, Gov. Phil Murphy and even presidential candidates.

The old policy said students could be denied lunch after accruing more than $20 in debt, although that policy was never enforced.

Under the new policy, approved by the board last week, students who owe $10 or more in back lunch pay would be served the meal of the day, but would be restricted when it came to a la carte items.

As a last resort, students who are in debt more than $75 would also be banned from some extracurricular activities, including prom and non-educational field trips, according to Cherry Hill Public School District spokeswoman Barbara Wilson.

The revised policy still garnered negative reaction at the school board meeting and from some high profile figures.

District officials have noted the policy follows state law. Superintendent Joseph Meloche said he sent a letter to Murphy about the law before final adoption of the revised policy, but never received a response, the Courier Post reports.

"If my mom or dad can't pay for lunch, why should I be restricted from my passions?" Cherry Hill High School East senior Jacob Graff said, according to 6 ABC.

“What will happen in my daughter’s classroom when one of her classmates can’t go on the field trip?” one parent asked, according to Fox. “What will the children say about their classmates? It’s sickening to think about, frankly.”

Businessman Steve Ravitz, the owner of a chain of ShopRite stores in South Jersey, even offered to help pay for the debt, but the district said it isn't accepting donations, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Superintendent Joseph Meloche said erasing the debt doesn't solve the problem that many families don't have the financial means to pay for lunches. The U.S. Census estimates that just over 6.2 percent of Cherry Hill families live below the poverty line.

The district will continue to work with families who find themselves falling behind in paying school lunches. Currently, parents are sent a letter by mail every 10 days they have a lunch debt. That timeline would change, but it was unclear what the new timeline would be.

Phone calls are also made, but no emails are sent to parents. The letters inform parents how to apply for payment plans and free/reduced lunches. Parents can apply for free/reduced lunches at any point during the year, officials said previously.

The district will also continue to work with any family that makes a good faith effort to pay their delinquent lunch bill. An in-person meeting will be held if the debt exceeds $75.

Read more here: Changes Possible For 'Inhumane' Cherry Hill School Lunch Policy

In August, Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shugars suggested the district needed to start following the policy of not providing lunch for students who were more than $20 in debt. The policy has been in place since 2017, but the district never adhered to it.

Shugars said enforcement was needed to prevent what is currently a $14,000 debt in unpaid meals gets even deeper. Critics of the policy called it "inhumane."

Read more here: Students Who Owe Money May Be Denied Lunch In Cherry Hill Schools