Beginning this fall, all school cafeterias will be meeting tough nutritional guidelines per USDA.  The focus for the 2012-2013 school year is lunch.  Meals will consist of more fruits and vegetables, as well as a variety of those items.  There are now subgroups that will be offered each week, those subgroups are:  Dark Green, Red/Orange, Starchy, and Beans/Legumes.

The new guidelines will ensure students are receiving more whole grains, fat free or 1% milk, additional fruits and vegetables and now set limits on calories and sodium as well as serving sizes.

At the High School level (offer versus serve), students will be required to take a minimum of half a cup of fruits or vegetables for that meal to count as a reimbursable meal.  (Students who do not take enough components for it to be considered “reimbursable” will be charged for each item.)  As in the past, we will continue to offer a variety of fruits and vegetables that students may select from.

In the Elementary, students will continue to obtain their milk at the beginning of the line, and then proceed to obtain a tray, enter their pin number into the computer and go into the cafeteria to eat.

Breakfast procedures will remain the same as previous years.  Guidelines for breakfast will be gradually introduced into the program over the coming years.