| Q:
What are the school meals programs?
A:
The school breakfast and school lunch programs
offer nutritious meals for students in public and private
nonprofit schools across the country. During the 2004-05
school year, the Bellingham School District served more
than 1 million meals to students.
Q:
How do I know if my family qualifies for free or reduced
meals?
A:
If you think that you might qualify under
federal guidelines, please complete this application
(link to form) and return it to your school or call
(360) 676-6504. A family of four qualifies for free
meals if they earn $26,000 or less in annual gross income
or no more than $2,167 gross per month. A family of four qualifies
for reduced meals if they earn up to 37,000 annual
gross income or no more than $3,084 gross per month.
Q:
Is the food nutritious?
A:
Absolutely. As of July 1, 1996, all schools
in the school lunch and school breakfast programs are
required by federal law to comply with the United States
Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines. During
any given week, a school lunch must provide 33.3 percent
of a student's protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A and
vitamin C, according to these guidelines. School breakfast
must provide 25 percent. In addition, the week's meals
must average no more than 30 percent of calories from
fat and no more than 10 percent of calories from saturated
fat.
Federal
audits of the nutrition of meals were conducted in 2003
and 2004, and our meals meet or exceed the guidelines
for all grade levels.
Q:
Does the school district work with local growers?
A:
Yes, the school district purchases locally
grown products when possible. During the 2004-05 school
year and this , the district served thousands of pounds of free
fruits and vegetable to Shuksan Middle School students
through a federally funded grant. Local growers supplied
many of these fruits and vegetables for this successful
program. This program at Skuksan has continued again for the 2006-07 year.
Q:
What steps have been taken to offer healthy meals?
A:
The district monitors and regularly updates
its meal program. Standards include:
- No
deep fried foods since the late 1970s.
- Self-serve
garden/orchard buffets for fruits and vegetables
at all schools (301,228 pounds served during the
2003-04 school year).
-
Products with lower fat, sugar and sodium.
- Nutrient
analysis of menus conducted monthly.
- Increased
use of whole grains, 12-grain bread used for sandwiches,
brown and white rice blend, whole grain cereals
and rolls.
- Locally
grown fruits and vegetables incorporated into program.
- Cookies
and other sweet desserts have been eliminated from
menus.
- Baked
chips only are served with free/reduced meals.
- Breakfast
cereals contain no more than 35 percent sugar by
weight.
- Vegetarian
meal options available daily.
- Pre-made
salads available daily at all middle and high schools.
- Non-fat
and 1 percent milk is served.
Q:
But what about the pizza that the meal program serves
from vendors?
A:
Pizza purchased from vendors is made differently
for the school district than it is for other customers
in order to meet federal nutritional standards.
Q:
Why does the district serve pizza, chicken nuggets and
burritos?
A:
These are some of the foods that students request and
most frequently purchase. The district's Food Services
program is self-sustaining, meaning that meals purchased
as well as state and federal revenue support the program
rather than using local tax dollars. The program relies
on students to purchase meals in order to recover operational
costs, which are kept to a minimum. Food Services offers
and encourages students to try healthy options, such
as healthy deli sandwiches, wraps and deluxe salads.
Q:
Can students purchase candy bars, espressos and other
items a la carte through Food Services that don't meet
the district's Fitness and Nutrition policy standards?
A:
No, all food items that do not meet the district's Fitness
and Nutrition policy standards are not served or sold
on school grounds.
Q:
As a parent/guardian, can I limit my student's a la
carte purchases?
A:
Yes. Families may now set a dollar limit on their children's
a la carte purchases by contacting Food Services staff
at their school.
Q:
What if my child has a food allergy?
A:
Food Services cashiers now use a system that
can alert them if a student has a food allergy. Families
should contact their school nurse to activate this notification
to Food Services staff.
Q:
How does my child purchase school meals?
A:
Families can pay for meals with cash or check
at their school or complete this form (link) if they
qualify for free/reduced meals. All
district students receive a five-digit pin
number for school meals. For new students, the number will be printed
on a paper card until the student has memorized the
number. Students will have this same number throughout
their education in the district.
Q:
Can I view my student's account balance online and see
what my child is purchasing from Food Services?
A:
Yes. All families of school students
may use the Web-based ParentConnection system to view
their Food Services account balance and see what their
children have selected to eat. Families can contact their school to access ParentConnection.
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