St. Louis Language Immersion Schools. Food Service Guide Prepared by Kim Bryant, BAFC Consulting, LLC

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1 St. Louis Language Immersion Schools Food Service Guide Prepared by Kim Bryant, BAFC Consulting, LLC Consulting for St. Louis Language Immersion Schools

2 Purpose This guide is being prepared and provided to gain a better understanding for students, parents/guardians, facility and staff on the operations of School Food Service. Background St. Louis Language Immersion Schools, hereafter referred to as SLLIS, participates in the National School Lunch (NSLP) and School Breakfast (SBP) programs sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA provides guidance, procedures and policies for school districts to operate an effective, self- sustaining meal program in their schools. In addition to guidance, USDA provides reimbursement for meals in order for school districts to finance their school meal programs. Finances School Food Service Departments are meant to be self- sustaining financially. An effective, self- sustaining food service department does not require additional funding provided by the school s General Operating Budget (GOB). SLLIS has historically required additional funding from the GOB to meet their expenditure obligations which can have a negative impact on other departments such as instruction, building maintenance, etc. Food Service Departments are revenue vs. expenditure departments. Very simply stated, revenue must meet or exceed expenditures to be self- sustaining. Revenue sources Meals served to students and adults are the sole source of revenue. Federal reimbursement Every STUDENT meal claimed for reimbursement is paid based on the student s status (Free, Reduced or Paid). Each meal status is reimbursed at a different rate. Reimbursement Rates Free Lunch - $3.15 Reduced Lunch - $2.75 Paid Lunch - $.37 Free Breakfast - $1.99 Reduced Breakfast - $1.69 Paid Breakfast - $.29 Adult meals do not have any reimbursement opportunities. Federal law requires that all adult meal pricing exceed the cost of the meal as Federal reimbursement dollars are for student meals only. State Payment- A annual ONE time payment is provided by the State of Missouri based on the previous school year s number of student lunches served. This reimbursement is paid in June. Local Revenue- The amount paid for meals by Reduced students, Paid students and adults. Approximately 94% of the revenue to finance the SLLIS Food Service operation is from Federal reimbursement, less than 1% is provided by the State payment and approximately 5% is provided by Local revenue.

Agriculture (USDA). USDA provides guidance, procedures and policies for school districts to operate an effective, self- sustaining meal program in their schools.

3 How meals are counted for reimbursement claims SLLIS uses a point of service software called Mealtime. Each student has been issued a personal identification number (PIN) that (s)he types into a PIN pad for identification, meal received and pricing (free, reduced or paid). Monthly reports are generated from Mealtime for claiming purposes. Only meals recorded in Mealtime are eligible to be claimed for reimbursement and invoicing to the food service contractor. Mealtime is an approved POS software by the State of Missouri. Free/Reduced Meal Benefit Application and Direct Certification Students are certified to receive free or reduced priced meals by two methods. The free/reduced meal benefit application is the most commonly used method to apply for meal benefits. Income levels are set nationwide by USDA and are used to determine free or reduced status. If a family income exceeds the income levels, they must pay full price for meals. Direct Certification is a method established using a student s identifying number and it is matched to a data base of children who receive food stamps (SNAP) or temporary financial assistance (TANF) though the State of Missouri. These identified students receive free meals at school without the need to complete an application. What the Free/Reduced Meal Benefit Application means to SLLIS Free/Reduced status numbers are used in many areas of education, not just pricing for student meals. Title 1 funds provided to schools are based on a formula that includes free/reduced numbers, the state funding formula (formula used to determine state funding) has a calculation that the free/reduced number is used to weight the base average daily attendance which means more revenue for a school. Reporting dates for these numbers are in October of each school year. It is financially beneficial to the school if all students apply for meal benefits. Even if a student does not receive meals at school and they are certified free or reduced, the amount of revenue the school receives is based on CERTIFICATION not PARTICIPATION. This is the motivation of the school to certify as many students as possible by October. Invitations to apply are sent home regularly in the first two months of school to accomplish this goal. If a parent refuses to apply and states as such on the application, no more invitations to apply will be sent home for the remainder of the school year. Meal Patterns and Menu Planning The Healthier Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) was enacted to help combat childhood obesity and to educate students on healthy food choices. New meal patterns were established for the NSLP and SBP. These meal patterns include maximum limits for fat, sodium and sugar content of food as well as minimum standards for food variety. Schools must provide a variety of five different vegetables categories per week, foods rich in whole grains with a minimum amount provided daily and weekly, a variety of milk provided to encourage all children to drink milk, a minimum amount of fruit provided daily and weekly and minimum amounts of protein served in the form of meat or meat alternatives. To see the full meal pattern regulations, go to the USDA website, and look under meal patterns. CERES is the food service contractor serving SLLIS. All menus have been planned and analyzed to meet or exceed these standards. Menus are submitted and certified to meet these standards by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Food Service Division on a three year cycle for review. All pre- packaged products used in the breakfast program are within limits for fat, sodium and sugar content. Bread products are whole grain. Meat options are served in the required amounts. Fruit and vegetable options are served in the required amounts. Milk variety includes fat free white milk, Skim (1%) white milk and fat free chocolate. A variety of milk is required to encourage students to become milk drinkers. Many students do not drink white milk, therefore, chocolate is being provided to ensure these students

Monthly reports are generated from Mealtime for claiming purposes. Only meals recorded in Mealtime are eligible to be claimed for reimbursement and invoicing to the food service contractor.

4 the opportunity to receive the important nutrients of calcium and protein. These benefits far outweigh the sugar content in flavored milk which is within guidelines for HHFKA. Menus are planned and analyzed in advance. Many times an established menu must be changed due to lack of availability of products from food suppliers. It is the goal of CERES to provide all items stated on the menu on the day stated, however, circumstances can arise beyond their control to achieve this goal. Menus are available in paper format at your student s school. Your student can pick up a menu for home use at the receptionist s desk. Accomplishments Improved meal counting for reimbursement with the implementation of the PIN system. Grab N Go breakfast for students who arrive to school late. This breakfast is NOT intended for late buses but for students who arrive by car or walking to school after breakfast has ended. It is our firm belief that a child cannot learn when they are hungry, so this option was started this year. Better record keeping of student accounts, accomplished by the PIN system. Better communication with parents/guardians on their student s meal account balances. Weekly statements will be sent home via backpack mail of your student s account balance. Reduced and Paid students will only receive these statements. Look for the statement every Monday in your student s backpack. Established controls on deposits into meal accounts. Established controls on limits of negative balances for meals. Alternative meals in the form of a sandwich and a milk will be served to students whose balance has fallen below an established amount. - $15.00 for full price students and - $2.10 for reduced price students. These amounts allow for three breakfast and three lunches be charged to allow the parent/guardian sufficient time to make a deposit. Please be advised that the negative amount will be deducted from a deposit as the amount is owed for meals served. Notice of menu changes. A form has been developed for CERES to notify the Heads of Schools of a menu change so a blast can be sent to parents/guardians notifying them of the change. What we are working on On Line meal account payments. SLLIS is researching the most economical and efficient form of on line payments. On Line Menu Posting. SLLIS will be updating the school s webpage and menus will be posted monthly for your convenience. Statistics for Informational Purposes Free/Reduced Certified Students (August, 2015): Papin (TSS) - Free 238, Reduced 27, Paid 139 Percentage Free/Reduced: 65.6% Marine (TCS,TFS,TIS) - Free 218, Reduced 36, Paid 203 Percentage Free/Reduced: 55.6% District Wide: 61% Meal Participation Percentage of meals served by status Breakfast: Free - 90%, Reduced 4%, Paid 6% Lunch: Free 80%, Reduced 6%, Paid 14%

It is the goal of CERES to provide all items stated on the menu on the day stated, however, circumstances can arise beyond their control to achieve this goal.

5 General Information Meal Prices Reduced Price Breakfast - $.30 Full Price Breakfast - $.40 Adult Breakfast - $2.50 Reduced Price Lunch $.40 Full Price Lunch - $3.00 Adult Lunch - $3.75 Payment Options Personal Checks Money Orders Cashier s Checks Please make checks payable to: SLLIS Debit/Credit Card payments may be made at your student s school No Cash Accepted Payments are accepted by the receptionist in each building.

75 Payment Options Personal Checks Money Orders Cashier s Checks Please make checks payable to: SLLIS

WELLNESS POLICY Comprehensive Health Education

WELLNESS POLICY Comprehensive Health Education WELLNESS POLICY The Academy recognizes that it cannot achieve their primary mission of educating students for lifelong learning and success if students and staff are not physically, mentally and socially