New School Meal Requirements
School Meals Encouraging Fruits, Vegetables and Whole Grains
Biggest Changes
Students will now be required to have ½ cup of fruit or vegetables on their tray for it to count as a full meal. Anything less than a full meal is charged at a la carte prices (ala carte pricing is not an option at the elementary level). We will be offering a variety of fruits and vegetables daily to give the students more to select from.
We are now limited as to how much meat/meat alternate (cheese, yogurt, etc.) and grains we can offer. Previously, we only had a minimum, but could offer more. Now we have to stay within the specified ranges for each age group.
What We’re Doing
Half of all grains offered must be whole grain rich. Almost all of our grains offered already meet this requirement.
We must offer vegetables from the following groups each week: dark green, orange/red, and legumes. We then have the option to include starchy and other vegetables. We have been working towards this goal by offering salad bar choices with low fat ranch dressing; fresh steamed vegetable medleys; and including spinach in lettuce mixes. We will now be offering more romaine lettuce and mixed greens, offering legumes, and a variety of other vegetables during the week.
Schools have until 2014-2015 to meet the first level of sodium limits. This will be quite a challenge, but we have already begun working towards this goal. We have been incorporating fresh and frozen vegetables and fruits into salad bars (as canned usually have more sodium), main entrees and side dishes.
School meals are a great value and a huge convenience for busy families too! Please click HERE visit our website to find out more about menus, meal prices and on line payments.
How Parents Can Help
- Encourage your children to try new things at home and school.
- Join your child for lunch and/or breakfast anytime.
- If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. We’re here to help!
- Please visit here for more details