Families May Be Owed Money In School Food Settlement

If you paid for your child’s food at a K-12 school in Iowa between Jan. 1, 2000, and Aug. 1, 2014, there’s a good chance you’re entitled to a financial settlement as part of a class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges Iowa Educators Corporation (IEC) and the Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing (IAEP) violated state law by awarding food service contracts across Iowa to Martin Brothers Distributing Company, Inc.

The lawsuit also alleges Martin Brothers had a monopoly in the bidding process for food distribution at hundreds of schools in Iowa over the 14-year period. The lawsuit alleges with the aid of the IEC and IAEP, Martin Brothers was the only distributor that could get access to lower prices negotiated with individual school districts.

Martin Brothers denied wrong doing, but says it has agreed to pay $1.9 million to avoid the costs and time associated with litigation.

The Iowa School Food Settlement website lists the hundreds of school districts from across the state that purchased food service through the IEC and IAEP from 2000-2014. Local districts named on the site include Glenwood, Fremont-Mills, Malvern, Nishna Valley, East Mills, Sidney, Treynor, Red Oak and St. Albert. Not all districts included in the settlement were members of the IEC or IAEP for all 14 years.

Eligible individuals can receive up to $3.50 per student (maximum $50 per student) for each year their local school district purchased food services through IEC and LAEP.

A year-by-year breakdown of school district participation with IEC and LAEP and directions for filing a claim can be found online at iowaschoolfoodsettlement.com.