Food Service

Breakfast is served to kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students each morning from7:15 – 7:45 a.m.  Students must be in the breakfast line by 7:45 a.m. in order to be served breakfast.  Children who wish to eat breakfast at school should report directly to the cafeteria. If a child goes to class first, he or she will likely be too late for breakfast and will be turned away. Arrival after 7:45 a.m. will not allow the child time to eat, take his or her tray to the scullery, and arrive in class on time. Only late arriving bus students are served after 7:45 a.m.

 

Preschool students (3K & 4K) in full-day classes should report directly to the preschool classrooms. These classes will enter the cafeteria following the WPS News Show and eat breakfast together with their teachers.

 

Children participating in the school breakfast program should be able to come to the cafeteria and follow the procedures explained by the adults on duty. Children who are hesitant about eating breakfast in the cafeteria (and still require the parent to be nearby) should become more familiar and comfortable with lunch procedures before beginning to participate in the school breakfast program. We regret that we are unable to provide breakfast for parents.

 

The cost of the student breakfast is $1.00 per day. A free/reduced priced breakfast is available for those who qualify. The reduced breakfast is .30 per day. Please complete the free or reduced meal application at registration.  Parents are responsible for paying for the days the child eats until the application has been approved.

 

Preschool Snack Program

Only preschool children are served snacks from the cafeteria. The cost for snack is $.50 per day. Reduced snack cost is $.10 per day. The free or reduced application may apply for snacks as well as meals.  Parents are responsible for paying for the days the child receives snacks until the application has been approved.

Lunch Program

A well-balanced lunch meeting USDA guidelines is provided for students each day. Weekly menus are posted in the cafeteria, on the school website, and in classroom newsletters. Additional copies of menus can be obtained from the school office. If a student is allergic to milk or milk products, juice may be substituted. Any request to substitute juice for milk must be accompanied by a letter from a physician and submitted to the school nurse. The nurse will notify the cafeteria manager. Any other food allergies should be handled in the same manner.  It is the responsibility of the parent to notify the teacher and the nurse each year that the student has allergies to milk or foods or any special dietary restrictions.

The cost of the student lunch is $1.70 per day. A free/reduced priced lunch is available for those who qualify. The reduced lunch is .40 per day. Please complete the free or reduced meal application at registration.Parents are responsible for paying for the days the child eats until the application has been approved.We cannot accept charges if funds are not available in the account.  Lunches must be sent from home until the account has a positive balance.  If there is a question regarding the meal account, please contact Kathy Thomas at 476-2089.

Some parents wish to eat lunch with their children on special occasions throughout the school year. We are happy to accommodate as long as you notify the child’s teacher by 8:00 a.m. on the day you would like to eat, so that you can be included in our lunch count. The teacher will be responsible for notifying the cafeteria manager and the lobby receptionist, so they can be expecting you.  All visitors will need to bring a driver’s license or SC identification from the Department of Motor Vehicles to be scanned to obtain a visitor’s pass to enter the cafeteria.

Two meals at which we are unable to accommodate guests are the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. We are also not able to accommodate guests on the days we serve bagged lunches.  If you are coming to eat lunch at school, we do ask that you eat school lunch and not bring restaurant food into the cafeteria.  It is also important that the child remain at school to receive afternoon instruction, so we ask that you not request an early dismissal following lunch.

Meal Accounts

Every student will be assigned an individual meal account. Payments should be made into this account, which works similar to a debit card. The system keeps track of all meals served from the cafeteria (breakfast, lunch, preschool snack, extra milk) and deducts from the balance at the time the meal is served.A student may eat meals as long as funds are available in the account. The school is unable to provide meals on credit. The parent should be prepared to send lunches from home when the account balance is too low to cover meals.  If you have questions about our system or these procedures, please contact Mrs. Hodge at 476-3174.

Low balance notices will be sent home on Wednesdays. You should deposit additional money into your child’s account as soon as you receive a low balance notice.Be sure to look for this notice in your child’s bookbag on Wednesdays. Payments should be sent to the child’s teacher. Be sure to place the money/check in an envelope and include the barcode number on a check. Please write the child’s name, barcode number, and the teacher’s name on the envelope. Funds remaining in the account at the end of the school year will be refunded.

Occasionally, parents are unaware of the meals their child is eating at school. They are surprised when they receive a notice that the account balance is low. Upon investigation, we may find that the child is eating breakfast or getting extra milks without the parents’ knowledge. Therefore, we are providing a form where parents can indicate which meals (lunch, breakfast, preschool snacks, and milks) the child will routinely consume at school. We hope this will alleviate any surprises for parents when they receive balance notices.

Free or Reduced Meal Applications

You may submit an application for free or reduced meals at registration or anytime during the school year. Applications are available in the school office or from the school web site at the “Forms” link. If you have any questions regarding specific meal accounts, please contact Kathy Thomas at 476-2089.

If a student was on free or reduced status the previous year, the status will only be carried over for 30 days into the new school year. A new application must be completed for the child to continue receiving benefits for the current year. The application should be completed at registration even if you have received written notification that the status will carry over. Until a new meal application is approved, students are responsible for the full price of meals regardless of their typical status. Meals eaten while the child is not under free or reduced status cannot be reduced to free or reduced status at a later date. Meals must be paid according to the status on the day the meal is eaten.

The federal government has additional requirements related to free or reduced meal accounts. One requirement is that a form must be signed every 60 days if no income or no employment is listed on the initial application. Those dates are November 15^th, January 15^th, and March 15^th. If the form is not received by the date indicated, the free or reduced status reverts to PAID status. If the income or employment status has changed, a new meal application should be submitted.

Sometimes, a family may be directly certified. In this case, it is critical that all family members be listed on the application form. If older siblings are already on free or reduced status and younger siblings are enrolled at a later date, it is important that they are added to the form. Otherwise, we have no record of that the younger siblings are on free or reduced status and they will be charged full meal prices.

Lunches from Home/Outside Food

Lunches from home should consist of nutritious foods and be contained in a lunchbox labeled with the child’s name. There can be no sharing of food brought from home. Also, parents should ensure that food brought from home remains at the proper temperature for safety. Access to refrigerators is not guaranteed. Therefore, lunches that need to remain chilled should contain a cold pack or frozen juice box. Foods cannot be microwaved at school unless prescribed by a physician.

Students bringing drinks from home should not bring canned sodas, glass bottles, or carbonated drinks.  Opened drink containers may not be carried from the cafeteria as they easily spill creating sticky messes in the classrooms.