Child Nutrition

Breakfast and Lunch will be offered for a fee for the 2022-23 school year.  We encourage all eligible families to fill out an application. If you qualify for free or reduced meals other benefits may be available to your family. If you feel your family might qualify for this benefit, please contact the Nutrition Services office or your school office for an application. Applications are also available to be filled out on the Infinite Campus website. All information is confidential, and students who receive benefits are not identified in any way. You may apply at any time during the school year. 

The goal of Mankato Area School District's Nutrition Services Department is to provide students with a nutritious and delicious meal. The menu is planned according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's nutrition standards.

The USDA’s Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act requires schools to: 

• Offer fruit and vegetables daily
• Offer only whole grain-rich items 
• Include the 5 vegetable subgroups weekly 
• Offer only fat-free or low-fat dairy items 
• On average, the planned lunch contains <10% saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat, 600-650 calories for grades K-8, and 750-850 calories for grades 9-12. 

MN Dept of Ed: Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act School Lunch Meal Pattern
MN Dept Of Ed: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
Milk Nutrition Information

School Payments

Meal payments may be mailed to, or dropped off at, the Nutrition Service Office or your student's school.  An email will be sent to the parent/guardian when the students' balance is low.

UNPAID MEAL CHARGES-MANKATO AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS GUIDELINES
These guidelines are to ensure that students receive healthy and nutritious meals through the school district’s nutrition program and that school district employees, families, and students have a shared understanding of expectations regarding meal charges.  The guidelines seek to allow students to receive the nutrition they need to stay focused during the school day and minimize identification of students with insufficient funds to pay for school meals as well as to maintain the financial integrity of the school nutrition program.
I. PAYMENT PROCESS 

• All meal purchases are to be prepaid before meal service begins. Families may add money to students’ accounts via credit card using the Parent Portal, sending cash or check with the student to school or utilizing the Auto-Pay which will pull money from a checking account once a month. 
• Because the school district receives school lunch aid under Minn. Stat. § 124D.111, it must make lunch available without charge to all participating students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals regardless of account balance.
• When a student has a negative account balance, the student will receive the regular menu item school lunch, but will not be allowed to charge a la carte items or a second meal.
• If a parent or guardian chooses to send in one payment that is to be divided between sibling accounts, the parent or guardian must specify how the funds are to be distributed to the students’ accounts.  Funds may not be transferred between sibling accounts unless written or verbal permission is received from the parent or guardian.

II. LOW OR NEGATIVE ACCOUNT BALANCES – NOTIFICATION 

• The school district will make reasonable efforts to notify families when meal account balances are low or fall below zero.
• Families will be notified of an outstanding negative balance once the balance reaches below $10.00. Families will be notified by an automated emailing and/or texting system as well as letters sent home from the student’s school’s food service staff. Letters from the Food Services Department will be mailed out intermittently for low balances below -$15.00. 
• Reminders for payment of outstanding student meal balances will not demean or stigmatize any student participating in the school lunch program.

III. UNPAID MEAL CHARGES

• The school district will make reasonable efforts to communicate with families to resolve the matter of unpaid charges. Where appropriate, families may be encouraged to apply for free and reduced-price meals for their children.
• The school district will make reasonable efforts to collect unpaid meal charges classified as delinquent debt.  Unpaid meal charges are designated as delinquent debt when payment is overdue, the debt is considered collectable, and efforts are being made to collect it.
• The school district may not enlist the assistance of non-school district employees, such as volunteers, to engage in debt collection efforts. 

IV. COMMUNICATION OF GUIDELINES 

• This guideline and any pertinent supporting information shall be provided in writing to all school district personnel who are responsible for enforcing this guideline.
• The school district will post the guideline on the school district’s website, in addition to providing the required written notification described above.