School lunch program
more important than you may know
By
Alannah Allbrett
The rising cost of food,
coupled with lower enrollment makes it challenging for the district to provide
tasty, nutritious lunches. The district receives reimbursement from the state
according to the number of free, reduced, and paid lunches served; any excess
comes out of the district budget. The number of lunches now being served is just
under 700 per day.
Not all students, who attend
school, participate in the school lunch program. The students at Timberline
Schools have an 80% participation rate, compared to a 60% participation by
Orofino Elementary and Junior High.
Critical funding information
Each school year, parents are
provided with confidential applications to participate in the Free and Reduced
national lunch program (F&R), designed to help students from low income
families. The statistics gathered from these applications are crucial to this
district in many unimagined ways. A family might struggle to provide paid
lunches during the school year, when they can’t really afford it, not knowing
that the F&R assists their children in many unseen ways.
The food program has received
a Fruit and Vegetable Grant, as well as a Stimulus Grant which,
purchased equipment in the Timberline
Schools due to their higher participation.
The library, teachers, and
the technical program apply for needed grants – all based on the numbers
generated by the Free and Reduced national lunch program. The federal government
also subsidizes (via E-rate) the technology program, based upon these numbers.
It is important to note that many organizations depend on the F&R
statistics to receive necessary governmental funding.
If your family qualifies, you
do the community a service by applying for the F&R program. Applications may be
picked up at any public school.
Providers
Carmen Griffith began working for the school district in 2000, as a
substitute in the kitchen. She is now in her second year as the Director of Food
Services where she plans menus, orders the food, maintains state required
documents, supervises staff, and attends state training sessions.
If you’ve ever wondered where
your child’s school meals come from, there are three main suppliers: Sysco, Food
Service of America, and Northwest Tools for Schools. The school also takes
advantage of government commodities to supply a wide variety of food items such
as: ground beef, BBQ pork, chicken, various cheeses, potato wedges, turkey meat,
chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken and patties, canned fruits, beans, and dried
pasta. The amount of commodities is based on the number of lunches served last
year. This program is operated by
the State of
Healthful meals
The state says that a child
must be offered five components to a healthful meal: protein fruit, vegetables,
grain or bread, and a dairy product. But the state only requires that the child
take three items. District 171 has a Wellness Policy which is even a little
stricter than state and federal requirements. They require that a child (K-6
grade) take four of the necessary items to make up a healthful meal.
Summer programs
In addition to regular school
lunch, the district has other food service programs to oversee. Since students
in Cavendish and Peck don’t have access to the lunch program, they qualify for a
“special milk” program that enables them to get their milk provided free or at
the reduced price of 10 cents per carton, with the rest of the cost being
reimbursed by the state.
The summer foods program will
be offered this year only in the valley. It will be operated out of
Learning Enrichment After
School Program (LEAP), for preschoolers, and Childhood Early Enrichment Program
(CHEAP), for elementary aged children, are two additional locations where summer
lunches will be served. CHEAP is located at:
If you have other questions,
contact Carmen Griffith at