The goal of the Child Nutrition and Food Services Department is to provide healthy, nutritious lunches and model good eating habits, enabling ALL students to concentrate, participate, and learn to their full potential. Research shows that students who choose healthy meals are able to learn more effectively. Our 20 member, professional food service staff prepares healthy meals daily, cares deeply about our students, and is an important part of our students’ educational success.
Log in to EZPay to load money onto your child’s account.
Lunch & Menus
Links to the school menu for each building can be found on the main web page under "Quick Links - Menus". We update and publish the elementary menu on a monthly basis. The menus at Briar Middle School and Perkins High School rotate according to color-coded weeks.
Each lunch tray includes a protein and grain or bread (entrée), a serving of fruit, a serving of vegetables, and a half pint of milk. While we hope that you will encourage your student to try school lunch, students are allowed to buy lunch and refuse one or two choices provided on the tray lunch. The elementary buildings offer a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a cheese stick, or the sandwich of the week, as an alternative to the daily entrée. Meadowlawn offers bottled water, juice, fruit, and items on the daily menu for purchase a la carte. Half pints of milk are available for students who choose to pack their lunches. High School and Middle School students have a choice of three to five daily entrée choices, plus a variety of fruits and vegetables. A salad bar, baked potato bar, taco bar, nacho bar, and deli bar are also available on alternating days.
Students in grades K-8 buying a tray lunch must choose a fruit or vegetable. High school students buying a tray lunch must take a minimum of a half cup of either a fruit or vegetable.
Payments
Any amount can be deposited to your child’s lunch account. Please place your payments in an envelope with your child’s first and last name and indicate the payment is for an elementary student. Middle School and High School students will not be given change. Make checks payable to the cafeteria. Payments can also be made online through EZPay. You will need your child’s student ID number to register for an account. There is a small fee for credit or debit card transactions, but no fee to view a brief history of purchases. It can take up to 24 hours for payments to post to the account and an email notification for low balances is available. Balances can be viewed in Parent Portal - PowerSchool. Click on Custom Screens on the left side of this page, then “3rd Party Vendor Information.” There will be a line for “Meals Plus Balance.” PLEASE keep money for school meals SEPARATE from school fees, book fairs, etc.
Lunch Charge Policy
Cafeteria policy for elementary school students limits students to three charged lunches. Letters are sent home after the first charged lunch and after the second charged lunch. After the third charged lunch, we will send home a letter and free and reduced lunch application. After three charged lunches, the student will not receive the lunch advertised on the menu. Students will receive a peanut butter or cheese sandwich and milk until the negative balance is paid in full. Students with any negative amount are not allowed to purchase a la carte items, including milk. Parents have five (5) days to pay the balance, return a completed free and reduced lunch application, or make other arrangements with the building principal. If no attempt is made to pay the account or provide for the child’s lunch within five (5) days, the building principal will notify Children’s Services. Middle and High School students are not allowed to charge lunches.
Free & Reduced Lunch
Free and reduced lunch application forms are now part of the registration process at the beginning of the year and are available online in the Registration Gateway. Students qualifying for free lunch may have their fees waived if they indicate a ‘yes’ response during registration. Parents must fill out the form at the beginning of each year for their children to continue receiving free or reduced price lunches. Perkins students who filled out the form and were eligible the previous year will only continue to receive free or reduced price lunches until the end of September in the new school year. After this deadline, parents will be responsible for meal charges until they submit a new form. The Federal program does not provide free milk for students packing their lunch, only the full lunch itself.
Click here for the application - Free & Reduced Lunch Application
Breakfast
Breakfast, including milk, is offered daily at all of our schools. Students who qualify for free or reduced priced lunches also receive breakfast at the same benefit level. In the event of a two-hour delay due to weather or a scheduled delay, breakfast is NOT served.
Additional Resources
• Getting Started with My Plate
• Area Summer Feeding Programs
• PSLD Cafeteria Policies & Procedures
• PSLD Non Discrimination Statement
• Request Catering and Coffee from Cafeteria
• Wellness Resources for Parents & Students
• Commit2Ten Program
Linda Miller - 419-625-0484, Ext. 1040
Director - Food Services Director
lmiller@perkinsschools.org