The National School Lunch Program is a service we offer the students. The program does not have anything to do with students that bring lunch from home. A student needs to have a reimbursable lunch meal which includes protein, vegetables, fruit, grain, and milk. The Pre K through 1st grade are considered 'all served only' this means they will get served everything we offer. In grades 2 through 6, they are considered 'offer versus serve', which means they have a choice of what they want to eat but they must have 3 components on their tray and one must be 1/2 cup of fruit or vegetables. They do not have to take milk if they have enough on their tray.
For a la carte items: Our a la carte items consist of extra meal components and milk. Milk is considered an a la carte item when a student wants a second milk with his school meal or when students bring their lunch and want a milk. Anytime there are items outside of the reimbursable meal, we have to charge for that item or items. In order to purchase extra meal items or milk that is not with a reimbursable meal, the student needs money in the meal account or cash in hand. This is a USDA guideline.
For students that are on free/reduced meals, this is only for the school meals and does not pertain to anything with a lunch brought from home. So if a student is on free/reduced meals, they must have money in the meal account or cash in hand to get milk to drink with the lunch brought from home. Yes, we can deny any extra items if they do not have available funds. This is also a USDA guideline because USDA does not want any negative balances.
