By MATT LINDSEY

NORWOOD — Last year Norwood-Norfolk Central School’s food service department, which supports itself, dealt with over $7,000 in unpaid lunches.

“Last year there was $7,000 that we had to eat — so to speak — and now under new federal regulations and guidelines we cannot let students charge more than five meals,” NNCS Superintendent Jamie Cruikshank said.

Students at Norwood-Norfolk Central are now limited to charging five lunches before they are offered an alternative free meal consisting of a cheese or peanut butter sandwich, along with fruit and veggies.

“A lot of kids request that anyways,” Cruikshank said.

Even though the food service department loses money by giving the free meal to a student, “we don’t want to penalize the child for not having their parents pay.”

Cruikshank is urging families to apply for reduced for free lunches to help the financial burden, both at home and at school.

The food service program runs separately than the school and a $7,000 deficit puts a strain on resources and the quality of products that can be offered.

Cruikshank said that a family can save $10 a week through the reduced lunch program, which is a savings of around $400 per year.

Last year about 60 percent of students were participating in the free/reduced lunch program.

NNCS has a digital payment system for lunches so that students are not stuck with the stigma of receiving a reduced rate lunch.

“The cashier punches the student’s ID in and it is seamless,” Cruikshank said. “None of the kids know who is getting free or reduced lunches.

The school has looked into the Universal Lunch Program, but does not currently meet criteria to participate. Locally, Edwards-Knox Central participates in the program.

The program looks how many families in the district that are on government assistance. To be eligible, the district must have at least 40 percent receiving some form of government help.

NNCS sits at 38 percent.

However, Cruikshank said that it would not be economically viable for the district to participate until the figure etched 57 to 58 percent. This is because the school’s food department would need to make up the difference as the program is not 100 percent free for the district.