Cafeteria

We are pleased to inform you that St. Rita School participates in a program available to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

What does this mean for you and your children attending St. Rita School?

All enrolled students of St. Rita School are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to your household each day of the school year. Your children will be able to participate in these meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit a meal application.

Lunch

As part of the federal program, St. Rita is required to follow a meal pattern that ensures that meals are well-balanced and provide students all the nutrition they need to succeed at school. The lunch program is designed to provide approximately one third of the recommended daily allowance of a student’s dietary needs when eaten over a period of time in which a variety of food is served. St. Rita Cafeteria uses the Offer vs Serve method to do this for grades K-8, which means that students are required to take three of the five components offered – at least one of which must be a vegetable or fruit. Only reimbursable meals (where at least 3 meal components are taken) qualify for CEP. Therefore, if a student only takes part of a meal, such as an entrée or only milk, they will be charged. Students will need to input their PIN when they receive a lunch for record-keeping purposes.

PK Students will follow a separate menu from K-8, each lunch will include all 5 of the components that make a reimbursable meal – meat/meat alternate, whole grain, vegetable, fruit and milk.

Breakfast

We participate in the Breakfast in the Classroom Program. Students will have the opportunity to eat breakfast as they enter their classrooms in the mornings. Breakfast will meet the dietary guidelines of the National Breakfast Program, which includes whole grains, fruit and milk.

Ala Carte Items

Alas Carte items (or extras) will be sold daily. St. Rita follows the Smart Snack Initiative which ensures that all snack foods and beverages sold meet the federal guidelines regarding whole grains, fat, sodium and calorie content. Ala Carte items will range in price from $.50 - $1.50. Milk purchased ala carte is $.50. A second entrée, or an additional side is considered ala carte and will be charged. You can deposit money for ala carte items into your child’s account at any time. You may do this by sending in cash or check with your child, making sure to write your child’s first and last name on the payment, or you may deposit money through our online payment system – MySchoolBucks – using a debit or credit card. To use the online payment system, go to the My School Bucks website here and, when setting up your account, choose St. Rita as the district. We are unable to accept debit or credit cards in the cafeteria.

Dietary Concerns

If your child has any food allergies or dietary concerns, please request a Dietary Concern Form or schedule an appointment with the cafeteria staff to ensure that all parties involved with your child are aware of the situation.

Please feel free to contact the cafeteria staff at any time at 969-7067 ex. 206 if you have questions or concerns.

We look forward to serving your students.

Angel Mattingly
Child Nutrition Director

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.