The 2020-21 Guilderland Schools Food Service Newsletter can be found below or you can download and print a copy here.
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Welcome back to a new school year! The Guilderland school district food service staff is looking forward to serving your children nutritious, great tasting meals that support their achievements in school and promote healthy lifestyles. We strive to provide outstanding service and high quality “kid friendly” meals that meet the latest federal and state requirements. Some of the goals I have for this year are more theme days and taste testing’s. Young children’s palates are constantly maturing. Conducting taste testing’s, especially at the elementary level will give students the opportunity to taste some new food items that they might not get to try elsewhere. Please encourage your children to participate in tasting new items on the menu or items we may be taste testing. They just might become a new favorite! I am always available for comments, questions or concerns and we look forward to seeing the students on the first day of school!
Megan Beck
Director of Food Services
beckm@guilderlandschools.net
518-456-6200 ext 3110
**If your student has a food allergy or medical condition, please contact our office to discuss menu options and planning**
Meal Prices
Breakfast
- Elementary – $1.95
- Elementary Reduced – $0
- Middle School – $1.95
- Middle School Reduced – $0
- High School – $2.50
- High School Reduced – $0
Lunch
- Elementary – $2.80
- Elementary Reduced – $0
- Middle School – $3.05
- Middle School Reduced – $0
- High School – $3.05
- High School Reduced – $0
How healthy is school lunch? The answer to this is …very healthy!
- In 2010 the “Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act” was released that applies to the National School Breakfast Program-NSBP and the National School Lunch Program-NSLP
- All meals (breakfast and lunch) are based on a meal pattern. Each meal depending on age group must contain a certain number of calories, fat, sodium, fruit, vegetable (dark green, red/orange, beans/pea/legumes, starchy, and other categories, grains, meat/meat alternates (alternates include items such as cheese and yogurts), and fluid milk.
- All juice served is 100% fruit juice with no added sugar
- All plain milk served is 1% and flavored milk is fat-free
- All items are oven baked, we do not fry anything
What is a Student Meal?
We participate in offer vs. serve at both breakfast and lunch. That means we offer all the components that are needed, and the students can take or decline as they wish. At breakfast, we offer four components of which the student must choose a minimum of three. We offer a variety of bread/grain, fruit/vegetable and milk components. Menu items may account for one or two components.
At lunch, we offer five components of which the student must choose a minimum of three and can take up to 5. Lunch components include meat/meat alternative, bread/grain, fruit, vegetable and milk. Once again, menu items may include more than one component; for example, a cheeseburger is both the meat/meat alternate and the grain. To purchase a reimbursable breakfast or lunch, one of the components chosen MUST be a fruit or vegetable at both meals.
Did you know? All students are eligible to eat Breakfast!
How Do I Pay for School Meals?
Please reference the 2020-21 Reopening Plan for details on how to pay for meals during the 2020-21 School Year.
- Options for food purchases include: cash, check or online payment. Please note that change will not be given at the register to reduce contact surfaces.
- An automated point of sale system in all cafeterias allows parents to set up an account and view what their child is purchasing and their current account balance. This can be accomplished over the internet at www.schoolcafe.com
- Restrictions, low balance alerts and automatic withdraws can also be set by calling the Director of Food Services
- MS/HS students use their ID number to punch in the pin pad for purchasing all food items at the register.
- If you are paying by check please make it out to Guilderland SD Café with your child’s name on the check.
- Parents/Guardians may access lunch menus and food service information at www.guilderlandschools.org
***Please note you can add a statement on your child’s account such as, “lunch only” or “breakfast only.” Every child has the opportunity to eat both breakfast and lunch unless we have a note on their account that says otherwise. ***
A La Carte Purchases
We sell a variety of a la carte items at all grade levels. All items sold follow the Smart Snack guideline laws as of 2014 which are as follows:
- <35% of total calories can come from fat and contain zero trans far.
- <200mg of sodium per packaged item
- <200 calories per packaged item
- Beverages: Elementary 8fl oz. max, MS/HS 12fl oz. and 40 calories per 8oz.
**If there is money in your child’s account or they have cash on hand, they can purchase a la carte snacks/beverages. If you want restrictions set or no a la carte purchases, please give us a call/e-mail**
Free & Reduced Meals
- Apply online, anytime, anywhere on www.schoolcafe.com. Guilderland SD food services has made it faster and easier for parents to apply for free and reduced meals. This free service enables families to receive program benefits faster than using the paper application. Your application is electronically submitted directly to the food service department for processing.
- Each school year a new application must be submitted (1 per household family) even if your child was receiving free or reduced meals the last school year.
- You must complete a new application before OCTOBER 20th, 2020. If you have not returned a new application by that date, your child will be removed from the program and will have to pay full price for meals until a new application is completed.
- If you accrue a negative balance and then qualify for free/reduced, you are still responsible to pay for that negative balance.
- If your child is receiving free/reduced meals they can have a complete breakfast and lunch meal.