Metro Atlanta school district to give cheese sandwiches to students with unpaid lunch balances

City of Decatur Schools is making a major change in the way they handle unpaid balances on school lunches.

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District leaders said that next month, they will offer cheese sandwiches to any student who has gotten behind.

Channel 2′s Audrey Washington was in Decatur Tuesday, where school officials said the new procedure will help bring down their districtwide unpaid lunch fee balance of nearly $90,000.

In a statement, the district explained the change and called the cheese sandwich an “alternative meal.”

“The program offering meal grants and waivers ended in 2022, and public school districts resumed the regular practice of charging for meals. However, City Schools of Decatur permitted students to continue to receive regular-priced meals at no cost, even if they had a balance on their account. The unpaid lunch fees have resulted in a districtwide balance of $88,000.00, prompting a change in the meal payment procedure,” the district wrote.”

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