USDA to ban online transaction fees on school lunch payments for low-income families

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Nov. 4, 2024, 3:57 PM EST


A new federal rule will prohibit schools from charging low-income students transaction fees when their families electronically deposit funds into their lunch accounts.

The policy was announced Friday by the Agriculture Department, which administers the national program that serves billions of student lunches and breakfasts every year.

The ban on the “junk fees,” which will go into effect in the 2027-28 academic year, applies to students eligible for free and reduced-price school meals — those whose annual household incomes are 185% or less of the federal poverty level, which equals $57,720 maximum for a family of four.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government agency that aims to ensure fairness in the marketplace, estimated in a report in July that school meal payment processors collect more than $100 million in transaction fees a year. The report said the fees disproportionately burden lower-income households, which tend to make smaller, more frequent electronic deposits into their children’s accounts.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/usda-ban-online-transaction-fees-school-lunch-payments-low-income-fami-rcna178634

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Link to USDA PRESS RELEASE - Biden-Harris Administration to End Online Junk Fees for Low-Income Families Paying for School Meals

[GB_RN]

1. Seriously?!?!

What the fuck is wrong with these schools? Reduced, and free lunches, are for kids in low income families. Who, in these school systems, thought up, “Hey! I know! We take advantage of poor people by charging them fees when they deposit money onto the kids’ accounts! We’ll make a MINT!”

[marybourg]

3. The article doesn't mention this, but the schools are apparently using a

“Payment processor”, a sophisticated website, seeming allied with a bank or other financial company, to accept and keep track of payments. This is where the fees are going. No more nickels (in my era) wrapped in a handkerchief.

[Hekate]

2. Why not stop the practice IMMEDIATELY?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. "Why not stop the practice IMMEDIATELY?"

From the press release -

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service issued a memo today to schools across the country about this policy. The school year 2027-2028 implementation date gives schools ample time to modify current systems or establish new contracts; however, USDA is encouraging schools to implement this requirement as soon as possible. The memo also reiterated USDA’s longstanding policy that schools must offer all families a free and accessible method for making deposits to school meal accounts – and that schools must ensure families know about this option.

To comply with Contract law.

[OldBaldy1701E]

5. No, the question is...

Why was it allowed in the first place?? Have we all turned into petty leeches? Sure looks like it!