6700P: Nutrition, Health, and Fitness

A. Meal Applications and Eligibility for School Meals

As a sponsor of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, the district will provide free or reduced-price meals to students who qualify in accordance with the programs.

If operating standard counting and claiming, the district will distribute the Letter to Households and Free or Reduced-Price Meal Application to all student households at the beginning of each school year. If a parent or guardian of a student needs assistance with application materials in a language other than English, the district will offer appropriate assistance to that parent or guardian. The district will protect the identity of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals in accordance with USDA guidelines for confidentiality and disclosure of student eligibility for such meals.

If the district has obtained available information from other sources that the student is likely eligible for free or reduced-price meals, but the parent or guardian has not submitted an application to determine the student’s eligibility, the district will complete and submit the application for the student in accordance with the authority granted under 7 C.F.R. Sec. 245.6 (d). The completed application must set forth the district’s basis for determining the student’s eligibility. A district family determined eligible under this process will be notified that the family’s children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. This determination must be made family by family, and the district will not make eligibility determinations or certifications by categories or groups of children.

If operating the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or other non-pricing option, the district will distribute the Letter to Households and the Family Income Survey to all student households at the beginning of each school year. If a parent or guardian of a student needs assistance with survey materials in a language other than English, the district will offer appropriate assistance to that parent or guardian. The district will protect the student’s identity and the confidentiality and disclosure of the data on a Family Income Survey.

At least monthly, the district will directly certify students for free or reduced price school meals if the students qualify because of enrollment in assistance programs, including but not limited to the Basic Food, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, etc.

The district and its school staff will work to improve systems for identifying homeless students, students in out-of-home care, runaway students, and migrant students to ensure that each student has proper access to free school meals and that applicable accountability and reporting requirements are satisfied.

Students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade who qualify for reduced-price breakfasts or lunches will not be required to pay a copay.

B. Meal Patterns and Menu Planning

The district will follow the USDA meal patterns for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Smart Snacks in School standards for all food and beverages sold to students on school campus during the school day.

C. Community Eligibility Provision

 Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, each school with an Identified Student Percentage (ISP) of at least 40% shall operate the USDA Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and offer meals at no cost to all students. The Identified Student Percentage (ISP) is calculated by dividing the number of Identified Students, students categorically eligible for free school meals by direct certification or other purposes, by the total enrollment.

D. Breakfast After the Bell

Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, each high-needs school shall offer breakfast after the bell to each student and provide adequate time for students to consume the offered food. Schools that are not obligated by state law to offer breakfast after the bell are encouraged to do so.

High-needs schools with at least seventy percent (70%) of free or reduced-price eligible children participating in both school lunch and school breakfast are exempt from the requirements of the paragraph above. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction will evaluate individual participation rates annually.

Each high-needs school and the district may determine the breakfast after the bell service model that best suits its students. Service models include but are not limited to a) breakfast in the classroom; (b) grab-and-go breakfast; and (c) second-chance breakfast. All breakfasts served in a breakfast after the bell program must comply with chapter 28A.235 RCW and federal meal patterns and nutrition stands for school breakfast programs under the federal Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010, as well as any federal regulations implementing that act.

For this program, the following definitions shall apply:

a. “Breakfast after the bell” means a breakfast that is offered to students after the beginning of the school day. Examples of breakfast after the bell models include, but are not limited to:

b. “Grab-and-go,” in which easy-to-eat breakfast foods are available for students to take at the start of the school day or in between morning classes;

c. “Second-chance breakfast,” in which breakfast foods are available during recess, a nutrition break, or later in the morning, for students who are not hungry first thing in the morning, or who arrive late to school; and “Breakfast in the classroom,” where breakfast is served in the classroom, often during homeroom or first period. Breakfast after the bell programs, including the provision of breakfast, are not considered part of the definition or funding of the program of basic education under Article IX of the state Constitution.

d. “Eligible for free or reduced-price meals” means a student who is eligible under the national school lunch program or school breakfast program to receive lunch or breakfast at no cost to the student or at a reduced cost to the student.

e. “High-needs school” means any public school: That has enrollment of seventy percent (70%) or more students eligible for free or reducedprice meals in the prior school year; or That is using provision two of the national school lunch act or the community eligibility provision under section 104(a) of the federal healthy, hunger-free kids act of 2010 to provide universal meals and that has a free claiming percentage of seventy percent (70%) or more.

f. “Public school” has the same meaning as provided in RCW 28A.150.010.

g. “School breakfast program” means a program meeting federal requirements under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1773. 

h. “School lunch program” means a program meeting federal requirements under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1751.

i. “Instructional Hours” means those hours students are provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity planned by and under the direction of school district staff, as directed by the administration and board of directors of the district, inclusive of intermissions for class changes, recess, and teacher/parent-guardian conferences that are planned and scheduled by the district for the purpose of discussing students’ educational needs or progress, and exclusive of time actually spent for meals. If students are provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity that is part of the regular instructional program concurrently with the consumption of breakfast, the period designated for student participation in breakfast after the bell must be considered instruction hours.

E. Meal Times

The district will set meal times to allow breakfast to be served as close to the start of the school day as possible (with the exception of the Breakfast After the Bell program, above) and lunch to be served between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. The length of the meal period for lunch will be at least 25 minutes.

F. Food Safety Plan

The district will establish a Food Safety Plan based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. Because of the potential liability of the district, the food services program will not accept donations of food other than as provided in this policy without board approval. Should the board approve a food donation, the superintendent or designee shall establish inspection and handling procedures for the food and determine that the provisions of all state and local laws have been met before selling the food as part of the school lunch menu.

G. Meal Pricing

The Board of Directors shall determine paid meal prices annually and for the National School Lunch Program and follow Paid Lunch Equity regulations. Adult meal prices shall be set to allow teachers, administrators, and parents to demonstrate their support for school meal programs by occasionally eating with students. The price must be the price charged to students paying the full meal price plus the value of federal reimbursement for paid meals and the USDA Food Value.

H. USDA Foods

The district will use the full entitlement of USDA Foods made available under the Federal Food Distribution Program for school meal programs.

I. Non-Profit School Food Service Account

The district will maintain a non-profit school food service account. All revenues shall be used solely for the school meal programs and to improve the quality of the food service program for the students being served. Food sold a la carte and food sold to other school entities will be priced to recover, at a minimum, food costs.

J. Children with Special Dietary Needs

The district will establish procedures to accommodate children with special dietary needs when a diet prescription form is signed by a licensed medical authority.

K. Civil Rights

The district will follow USDA Food and Nutrition Civil Rights and nondiscrimination policies.

L. Procurement

The district will follow all state and Federal guidelines when procuring food for the Federal School Meal Programs and as part of district procurement procedures, establish a procurement plan and Code of Conduct consistent with the Uniform Grant Guidance; 2 CFR 200. Food specifications shall be written in a manner to procure food products that meet the school meal pattern requirements.

M. Smart Snacks Standards in School

All foods and beverages sold to students on campus during the school day (e.g., vending machines, DECA school stores, bake sales, and other school fundraisers) must meet USDA Smart Snacks standards. The school day is defined as midnight to 30 minutes after the school day ends.

To qualify as a Smart Snack, a snack or entrée, must first meet the general nutrition standards:

• Be a “whole grain-rich” product; or
• Have as the first ingredient a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy food, or a protein food; or
• Be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit and/or vegetable.

Foods must meet the following nutrient standards for calories, sodium, fats, and total sugars:

Nutrient	Snack	Entree
Calories	200 calories or less	350 calories or less
Sodium	200 mg or less	480 mg or less
Total Fat	35% of calories or less	35% of calories or less
Saturated Fat	Less than 10% of calories	Less than 10% of calories
Trans Fat	0 g	0 g
Total Sugars	35% by weight or less	35% by weight or less

The Smart Snack Standards reflect practical and flexible solutions for healthy eating. A few foods or combinations of foods are exempt from certain standards. Refer to the table below for examples of exemptions:

Food	Smart Snacks Standars Exemptions
Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, with no added ingredients except water Canned fruits packed in 100% juice or light syrup, with no added ingredients except water Canned vegetables (no salt added/low sodium), with no added fats	Exempt from all nutrient standards
Reduced-fat cheese (including park-skim mozzarella) Nuts, seeds, or nut/seed butters Apples with reduced-fat cheese* Celery with peanut butter (and unsweetened raisins)* Whole eggs with no added fat	Exempt from the total fat and saturated fat standards, but must meet all other nutrient standards
Seafood with no added fat (e.g., canned tuna packed in water)	Exempt from the total fat standard, but must meet all other nutrient standards
Dried fruits with no added sugars Dried cranberries, tart cherries, or blueberries, sweetened only for processing and/or palatability, with no added fats	Exempt from the sugar standards, but must meet all other nutrient standards
Trail mix of dried fruits and nuts and/or seeds, with no added sugars or fats	Exempt from the total fat, saturated fat, and sugar standards, but must meet all other nutrient standards

*Paired exemptions are always required to meet the calorie and sodium limits for Smart Snacks.

Smart Snack Standards for Beverages:

Beverage Standards
Beverages	Elementary School*	Middle School*	High School**
Water (plain or plain carbonated)	No size limit	No size limit	No size limit
Low fat Milk (unflavored)	< 8 fl oz	< 12 fl oz	< 12 fl oz
Fat Free Milk (flavored or unflavored)	< 8 fl oz	< 12 fl oz	< 12 fl oz
100% fruit/vegetable juice	< 8 fl oz	< 12 fl oz	< 12 fl oz
100% fruit/vegetable juice diluted with water (with or without carbonation, no added sweeteners)	< 8 fl oz	< 12 fl oz	< 12 fl oz
Other flavored and/or carbonated beverages (containing < 5 kcal / 8 oz or < 60 kcal / 12oz)	Not allowed	Not allowed	< 20 fl oz
Other flavored and/or carbonated beverages (containing < 40 kcal / 8 oz or < 60 kcal / 12oz)	Not allowed	Not allowed	< 12 fl oz
*Must be caffeine free (except trace amount of naturally occurring caffeine substances) **May contain caffeine

N. Best Practices for Meal Service

The superintendent or designee will make reasonable efforts to ensure: • Student participation in the breakfast and lunch programs is encouraged; • Schools provide varied and nutritious food choices consistent with the applicable school meal program guidelines; • Meal prices are conspicuously posted in each cafeteria or designated meal area; • Seating for meals is uncrowded and occurs in a pleasant and safe environment; • Supervision during mealtime is appropriate and rules for mealtime behavior are consistently enforced; • Recess is implemented before lunch; • Bus schedules allow students to arrive in time for participation in the School Breakfast Program; • Community Eligibility Provision is implemented in qualifying schools. On testing days, the district may provide free, nutritious meals to all students, including those who do not qualify for free or reduced priced federal school meal benefits. However, the district must use Non-federal funds to cover the cost of providing such meals.

O. Water

To promote hydration, free, safe, and unflavored drinking water will be available to all students throughout the school day and throughout every school campus. The district will make drinking water available where school meals are served during mealtimes. In addition, students will be allowed to bring with them and carry throughout the day approved water bottles (filled only with water).

P. Catering

Catered events during the school day that involve students shall include only food meeting the cafeteria standards and will not include carbonated beverages.

Q. Celebrations and Rewards

Teachers and parents are strongly encouraged to celebrate holidays and birthdays with health snacks or non-food items or activities.

R. Fundraising

Only foods and beverages that meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards may be sold through fundraisers on the school campus during the school day.

S. Staff Qualifications and Professional Development

All school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff will meet or exceed hiring and annual continuing education/training requirements in the USDA professional standards for child nutrition professionals. These school nutrition personnel will refer to USDA’s Professional Standards for School Nutrition Standards website to search for training that meets their learning needs.