Target: Tom Vilsack, Secretary of U.S. Department of Agriculture
Goal: Close loopholes that allow payment processors to overcharge parents for kids’ school lunches.
School lunch accounts are often touted as a convenient and low-cost way for kids to get daily healthy meals while they are learning. But the nation’s top consumer protection watchdog is sounding the alarm about the harm caused by hidden fees baked into these accounts. According to findings from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some parents are spending up to 60 cents for every account dollar on transaction fees, service fees, and other surprise costs.
Collectively, the fees are costing parents with schoolchildren an additional 100 million dollars a year. And most of this money is going into the coffers of the three major payment processors with whom most public schools partner for lunch programs. For families on a fixed budget who must deposit money into accounts more frequently, the transaction fees can pile up and add to financial stress. Although schools are supposed to make parents aware of fee-free payment options, many times these options are either not transparently disclosed or made inordinately difficult and cumbersome.
Several U.S. senators have banded together to call on the Department of Agriculture to put an end to the soaring hidden fees hobbling its public school lunch program. Sign the petition below to join these calls for needed reform.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
“Every day, greedy payment processing companies are ripping off working families, snatching dollars meant to pay for kids’ school lunches in order to pad their profits. It is unacceptable that parents face exorbitant fees just so their children can eat school lunch.” Several senators have echoed concerns put forth by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concerning the financial burden placed on families by hidden school lunch fees. As mentioned in the bureau’s report, these fees are collectively costing parents an additional 100 million dollars a year.
For middle and low-income families, these fees are especially detrimental to finances and budgets. The exemption granted in 2014, allowing online payment processors to ignore the “no additional fees” school lunch mandate, has greatly compounded this problem. Please end this exemption and ease the burden for millions of American families.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Katerina Holmes
3 Signatures