TO: All Principals, Instructional Directors and Principals’ Secretaries
FROM: Paul E. Kelly, Director
School Nutrition Services (SNS)
DATE: July 21, 2015
SUBJECT: SNS 2015-2016 Meal Prices / Refund Policy / School Messenger Calls / Student Charges / Student Meal Account Numbers / Menus & Nutrition / Free & Reduce Meal Applications
The following information will be helpful for your students and staff and will inform all stakeholders of important SNS policies. Feel free to use any or all of this information in your student handbook for next year. Please also share this memo with your Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to be included in newsletters, as appropriate.
1. MEAL PRICES for 2015-2016
National School Lunch Program: Student Lunch (all levels) $2.65
Reduced Price Lunch $0.40
Federal Breakfast Program: Student Breakfast (all levels) $1.50
Reduced Price Breakfast $0.30
Adult Lunch: $3.25
Adult Breakfast: $1.80
(Adult meal prices set by USDA)
Low-Fat or Non-Fat Milk: $0.65
À La Carte Items: à la carte prices are established in August.
The HCPS School Board approved a five-cent increase in school lunches at their June 18, 2015 Board Meeting effective for the 2015-2016 school year. This increase was mandated by USDA to be in compliance with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
2. REFUND POLICY
NO REFUNDS ON PRE-PAYMENT OF MEALS
Parents who prepay for student meals should monitor account balances since School Nutrition Services DOES NOT MAKE REFUNDS at the end of the year or when students leave Henrico County, however, there are other options:
July 21, 2015
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A. All student meal funds are linked to the student’s I. D. number and follow the student to any school location within Henrico County. Therefore, all fund balances from the previous school year (2014-2015) automatically carry forward to the new school year (2015-2016) no matter which HCPS school the student attends.
B. If a student leaves the County, their remaining balance in their account may be transferred to another student in any Henrico County school. For assistance, please call the school’s Cafeteria Manager.
3. SCHOOL MESSENGER NEGATIVE BALANCE PHONE CALLS
School Nutrition Services will continue to provide, as a courtesy to parents, weekly phone call reminders when a student’s school meal account has a negative balance. For additional information, please call your school’s Cafeteria Manager.
4. CHARGING FOR MEALS
School Nutrition provides a customer service feature which allows any student who has forgotten or lost their lunch money to charge their meal. Meal charges may go up to a cumulative balance of $5.30 (e.g. two lunches). A la carte items are not allowed to be charged.
The owed-amount balance is immediately due the following school day. Students can use this feature as many times as needed during the school year as long as the balance owed does not go over $5.30. Students who do not pay the negative balance will no longer be eligible to charge until their account is re-paid.
Please remind all parents that this feature is discontinued two weeks before the last day of school to allow for SNS to collect outstanding balances.
School Nutrition Services never wants a child to go hungry. Should a student not be eligible for further charging, SNS will provide a whole wheat sandwich and a cold 8 oz. milk. There is no repayment for this limited emergency meal.
5. STUDENT MEAL ACCOUNT NUMBERS
All students are issued permanent and unique (5-digit) student meal account numbers. This meal account number is used for the duration of the student’s academic career; therefore, no new student meal account numbers are issued each school year, except for new students and first-year kindergarten students. The meal account numbers will also remain active for any transfer students from within the HCPS system to their new school. A new permanent student meal account number can be reissued at any time upon request if Student ID number is suspected to have been compromised. For questions or assistance, please see your school’s Cafeteria Manager.
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6. ON-LINE MENU/NUTRITION INFORMATION
School Nutrition Services has an electronic menu publication system (Nutri-Slice) that is beneficial to students and parents. In an effort to reduce environmental waste and be more cost conscious, all menus are only available on-line.
The new on-line, interactive menu program (Nutrislice) allows access to current nutritional information (including: calories, fat, carbs, sodium, protein, fiber, cholesterol and ingredients) on all menu food items in order to plan and monitor choices being offered daily. This information also benefits parents and school nurses in dealing with students who are diabetic or have severe food allergies. This program is updated as menus change.
7. FREE & REDUCE MEAL APPLICATIONS
On-Line Interactive Meal Applications continue with the 2015-2016 school. We strongly encourage families to apply on line at www.mealapps.henrico.k12.va.us. This site will be tentatively available by August 17, 2015. We would appreciate your support as we seek to increase the applications received using this method as it allows for a more efficient and faster application process. An informational flyer will be provided with the paper copies of the application explaining the on-line process.
Free & Reduced paper Meal Applications for 2015-2016 will be available in the schools in mid-August. These applications must be distributed to each student and can be included in the back-to-school packets. They will also be available in each school’s main office and cafeteria or at the School Nutrition Services office. Applications must be completed on current school year forms.
Please remember, there is never a cut-off time for applying as meal applications are accepted throughout the school year.
PEK/jth
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