Food Service Director

Ricky Welling

Richard.Welling@neric.org
Phone: (518) 674-7004

 

March 2023 Menus

 

February 2023 Menus

 

SUMMER MEALS: Any student who is in need of a meal during the summer time should visit this page.

 

2022-23 School Year Prices

Breakfast

K-5: $1.55

6-12: $1.80

Lunch

K-5 $2.90

6-12: $3.15

Beginning July 1, 2019, students in New York State that are approved for reduced price meals will receive breakfast and lunch meals at no charge.

 

Free and Reduced-Price Meal Information

Children need healthy meals to learn. Averill Park Central School District offers healthy meals every school day. Your children may qualify for free or reduced price meals. Beginning July 1, 2019, students in New York State that are approved for reduced price meals will receive breakfast and lunch at no charge. Interested families must apply each year, even if they have participated in the program during the previous school year. Parents are encouraged to submit the completed application to Food Services BEFORE the start of school each year. One only application is needed per household. If you have questions or need assistance with the application process, please contact Jennifer Radigan, Shared Food Services Specialist at 518-464-5106 or jennifer.radigan@neric.org

Free and Reduced Resources

Meal Charge Policy & Prohibition Against Meal Shaming Policy

The goal of the Averill Park Central School District is to provide student access to nutritious nocost or low-cost meals each school day. However, unpaid charges place a large financial burden on our District. The purpose of this policy is to insure compliance with federal requirements for the USDA Child Nutrition Program, and to provide oversight and accountability for the collection of outstanding student meal balances. The intent of this policy is to establish procedures to address unpaid meal charges throughout the District. The provisions of this policy pertain to regular priced school breakfast, lunch and meals only. Charging of items outside of the reimbursable meals (a la carte items, snacks, adult meals, etc.) is expressly prohibited.

In the event that a student does not have money to purchase lunch, we have developed a meal charge policy. The District also developed a Wellness Policy.

Children Can Eat Free During the Summer!

Call, text or go online for participating sites in our area.
Growing Up Healthy Hotline: Call 2-1-1 or 1-866-3-HUNGRY
No Kid Hungry Text Line: Text 'Food' to 877-877

Summer Food Mapper- http://www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks

 

Cafeteria News: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 

Your child has likely noticed a difference in school lunch this year as schools across the country are being challenged to meet new dietary standards enforced by the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA). Click here for more.   

mySchoolBucks

 

Meal Payment Information 

Averill Park Central School District’s Food Service Department is excited to provide parents a convenient, easy and secure online pre-payment service to deposit money into your child’s school meal account at any time through a website called mySchoolBucks.com. You can even download the mySchoolBucks App through the website to update your account on the go.

This service also provides parents the ability to view your child’s account balance. By having money in each child’s account prior to entering the cafeteria, we find the lunch lines move along much faster so your child has more time to eat and be with friends.

Click here to learn more.

Breakfast

Breakfast is available to all students in every building.

In order to meet USDA requirements, school breakfasts must contain no more than 30% of calories from fat, and less then 10% from saturated fat. In addition, breakfast must provide one fourth of the Recommended Dietary Allowances for protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and calories.

Research shows that children who eat breakfast:

  • are less likely to be overweight
  • show improvement on math, reading and standardized test scores
  • establish healthier habits for later in life
  • have fewer absences and incidences of tardiness
  • are more likely to behave better in school
  • consume more calcium, fiber, foliate and protein

Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the President and Congress created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households up to $30/month (or $75/month for households living on Tribal lands) toward their internet bills, as well as a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet. 

All households with a child who was approved to receive free or reduced price school meals under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program, within the last 12 months, including children who attend schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision, are eligible for ACP benefits. 

Households are also independently eligible if:

(1) their income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level ($55,500 for a family of four); or

(2) a member of the household participates in certain other Federal benefit programs—including, among others, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and Federal Public Housing Assistance.

To further lower costs, the Biden-Harris Administration secured commitments from internet service providers across the country to offer high-speed plans that are fully covered by the ACP. As a result, millions of working families can now get high-speed internet without paying a dime.

Families can check their eligibility, sign up, and find fully covered plans at GetInternet.gov(link is external)(link is external) (mobile-accessible and available in Spanish) or by calling 877-384-2575.

 

NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

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

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf(link is external), from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted 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

(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442

3. EMAIL

program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

 

Meal Modification Statement

Meal Service to Children with Disabilities: Federal regulations require schools and institutions to serve meals at no extra charge to children with a disability which may restrict their diet. A student with a disability is defined in 7CFR Part 15b.3 of Federal regulations, as one who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual, a record of such an impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment. All Food Service Areas will also be accessible to any/all individuals.

The School Nutrition Program’s regulations require that meals offered in the schools meet the meal patterns identified in the program regulations. Food substitutions may be made for medical or special dietary needs on a case-by-case basis if supported by a statement signed by a recognized medical authority. A recognized medical authority may include physicians, physician assistants or nurse practitioners.

Your child’s health is very important to us. Please have your medical authority complete and submit a notification to the school district’s School Lunch Director containing the required information needed to accommodate your child.

  • The School Nutrition Program utilizes the Offer vs. Serve meal service at our elementary, middle and high schools, but not any pre-k buildings. This means that your child may be able to make choices for their meal and choose something else to which they are not allergic to. School Nutrition personnel will make every attempt to accommodate your child’s dietary needs; however, if your child requires a special dietary item that is not on our district’s grocery bid, you may need to supply a particular item(s).
  • Please know that the School Nutrition Program is able to handle vegetarian and/or religious (i.e. no pork) dietary requests. Requests must be made through Food Service. Any major allergen requests must be made with the Nurse on Site.
  • Parents and students are able to view school menus on the school website.
  • Your child’s signed Notification Form will stay on file until the school nutrition department receives written notification to remove it.