Nutrition Services

We are proud to participate in the Summer Meal Program to provide children in our community with free summer meals. All children 18 and under are eligible, as are students 18-21 in one of our transition programs (including District 287 SECA, as well as Districts 917 and 916). Meals are provided at all summer school locations on days when summer school is in session. Call our department for more information.

• Student breakfast: free
• Student lunch (PreK-5): $2.70
• Student lunch (Grades 6-12): $2.95
• Additional milk: .60 cents
• Adult lunch: $4.60
• Adult breakfast: $2.65

During the past two years, all meals were free for students thanks to federal COVID-19 relief funds. Those funds have now expired and student lunches are no longer free. Please complete the Application for Educational Benefits (available after August 1, 2022) to apply for free or reduced-price meals for the 2022-23 school year. Student breakfast will continue to be free for all RPS students.

Application for Educational Benefits

• Every household is asked to complete the application each year. This annual process is required to receive educational benefits based on income.
• In Minnesota, reduced-price lunches are also served at no cost to the household and breakfast is free for all students each day in Richfield Public Schools. 
• While a full meal is available to students through this program, second entrees, à la carte items or individual milks without a meal purchase require payments and a positive balance in a student’s account.
• Families can reapply at any point during the school year. If you did not qualify earlier, but your household situation has changed since the beginning of the year, please consider reapplying.

To apply:

• Apply online or print out the application and return it to your child's school office.
  • Application for Educational Benefits (English) (Spanish) (Somali) (Hmong)

SchoolPay

• View your child’s meal balance and purchase history.
• Set automatic reminders when the account gets low.
• Make one-time payments or create automatic payments to your child’s account.
• Access payments through your ParentVUE account or through the SchoolPay website.
  • If you have a ParentVUE account, simply log in and click on the fees tab and you will be automatically logged in to SchoolPay. From there you can see fees and set up meal payments.
  • If you don’t have a ParentVUE account, please email parentvue@richfieldpublicschools.samanage.com and you will be contacted with an activation key that you can use to set up a ParentVUE account. ParentVUE is your one-stop-shop for attendance, grades and fee information. 
  • If students, grandparents or others want to make payments, then they should create a SchoolPay account directly and connect to the student. 

ParentVUE

• To set up reminders about your child's lunch balance or automatic payments, follow these steps:
  • Log into your ParentVUE account.
  • Select "Fee" and then "Pay Fees" to be directed to the SchoolPay portal. You and also access this directly by logging into SchoolPay directly.
  • Select the "Food Service" tab.
  • Under "Manage Funds" you can set up reminders or automatic payments.

Notifications

• When a student's account balance drops below -$0.05, we send an alert to parents via email, robocall and text. Please ensure your contact information is up-to-date in ParentVUE. These messages are automatically generated and are sent on Mondays and Thursdays during the school year. 
• When a student's account balance drops below -$0.05, we send a letter in your child’s backpack every week (if your child is in elementary school) or a mailed letter every two weeks (if your child is in grades 6-12).
• If you are having difficulty making payments, please notify our staff. We may be able to assist you with funds from the Sunshine Account, as well as other resources.

Meal Charging Policy

USDA guidelines state that all districts must administer a Meal Charge Policy to aid in maintaining the financial integrity of the nonprofit school food service account. All families of students will be notified prior to the meal account becoming negative in an effort to reduce or eliminate meal charging. Best efforts will be given to identify families who need financial assistance. Families with students who have negative meal account balances will be strongly encouraged to apply for free or reduced-price meals. When families keep their child's meal account positive, there are more funds available to provide higher quality food for all. 

MealViewer

• Check out what’s being served for breakfast and lunch.
• View nutrition and allergy information.
• Visit the MealViewer website or download the app (Apple | Google Play).

Does your child have food allergies?

If you set up a MealViewer profile for your child, you can save food allergens to their profile and receive an alert when an allergen is present on the menu. This helps alert you to a potentially dangerous situation for your child.

Lactose intolerance: If your child is lactose intolerant, please contact the Director of Food & Nutrition or send a note to the Nutrition Manager at your child's school requesting an alternative to cow's milk. Our electronic system will alert the nutrition services staff of this request and alternatives will be provided until we are informed otherwise.

Special dietary requests: If your child has special dietary requests, please have their medical doctor complete the Special Diet Request Form and return it to the school nurse at your child's school. Nutrition services staff will partner with both the school nurse and the family to make accommodations in the case of a disability. We will make reasonable accommodations based on the wide inventory of items that we usually have in inventory for all other requests.

Note:  It may take several weeks to prepare an individualized meal plan with a completed special diet statement.  Parents/guardians are responsible to provide meals from home for their student until a completed meal plan is in place. 

Offer vs. serve is a system that decreases food waste while giving students greater flexibility in choosing what to eat for school breakfast or lunch.

Breakfast

• Students must take a combination of two or three of the four items offered (depending on serving size for the meal) to qualify for a reimbursable meal.

Lunch

• Students must take a serving of fruit OR vegetable plus two additional options of the five food items offered for the meal to qualify as a reimbursable meal. This is the minimum under federal program regulations.
• Students may take smaller portions of the declined items.
• The meal must be priced as a unit. That is, a student who takes two, four or five food items, or smaller portions of some items, pays the same price.

Under specific criteria, state and federal governments may reimburse school districts for a portion of the cost of producing school meals. Reimbursable meals are combinations of food items served to students at breakfast and lunch that meet either nutrition standards or calorie levels or the meal pattern specified in federal regulations. These meals are also priced as a unit (the advertised price). Because the meal needs to be purchased as a unit, we may ask students to take an additional item if they do not have a complete meal. The district does not receive reimbursement when students purchase a second meal. In that event, students are charged the full cost of an adult meal.

OR

"Non-reimbursable" is a term we use when a student does not take what the USDA considers a "complete lunch". Each lunch menu consists of a minimum of five components: milk, protein, grain, fruit and vegetable item. A student must take a fruit or a vegetable item and two other different items from the menu in order for the lunch to be a "complete lunch". When a student does not select a complete lunch, we are not reimbursed by federal and state agencies. If we are not reimbursed for the meal, we must pass those charges on to the student. The non-reimbursable lunch cost reflects the actual cost of the meal. 

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800)877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax; (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) is a federal grant program that provides fresh fruit or vegetable snacks to students in the classroom at qualifying K-5 and K-8 schools. It’s a great way to get students excited about eating healthy and trying new fruits & vegetables. 

Centennial Elementary School is participating in the 2022-23 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. RPS Nutrition Services serves fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to students at participating schools Monday-Friday. Each month, the FFVP menu features a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to provide students the opportunity to try and learn about new foods.