Nutrition Services
 • Home • Administrative and Managerial Staff • For Parents • For Staff • Job Opportunities • Menus • Food Allergy Guide • Nutrition Bytes

      Why Buy Lunch at School?        

  1. School lunches are NUTRITIOUS.  School lunches provide children with 1/3 of their Recommended Dietary Allowances for calories, protein, vitamins A & C, calcium, iron, and fiber.  School lunches are also low in fat (< = 30% calories from fat) and saturated fat (< = 10% calories from saturated fat).
  2. School lunches are CONVENIENT.  Families with hectic schedules may find it difficult to prepare nutritious meals for their children to take to school.
  3. School lunches offer children a VARIETY OF FOOD CHOICES.  Children have 5 entrees to choose from daily.  Fresh/cooked fruits and vegetables are offered daily.  No extra sodium is added, we use Mrs. Dash for seasoning.  Currently our bread products are whole wheat and our homemade breads contain 51% wheat flour.  Tossed salads have fresh spinach mixed in; all our dressings and gravies are fat free.  We only use lowfat cheeses, whole grain pizza crusts, and most meat products are reduced fat.  No items are fried; we only bake and steam our menu items.
  4. School lunches are INEXPENSIVE.  An elementary lunch costs $1.90 and a secondary lunch costs $2.05.   If a parent wishes to put a restriction on their child(ren)'s account, he/she must contact the Cafeteria Manager at their child's school.
  5. The foods on the school lunch menus have been TASTE TESTED AND APPROVED BY KIDS.

 

Compare the costs of a lunch brought from home with the cost of a school lunch and you will see that the school lunch is a bargain.

Cost of Sample Lunch from Home
                           Determined from prices at local grocery store 7/9          

 
  Bread - 2 slices $    .20  
  Turkey - 3 oz. slices $    .89  
  Potato Chips - small bag $  1.04  
  Baby Carrots (4 - 5) $    .25  
  Red Grapes $    .15  
  Milk, 1/2 pint $    .75  
  Bag, napkin, etc $    .35  
  Total Cost $  3.63  
  Lunch purchased at school $  1.90  
  Savings $  1.73  

 

FREE AND REDUCED PRICED MEALS: Free and reduced price meal applications are mailed to all households annually. Families who earn less than 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals and those with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of poverty level qualify for reduced price meals. In the Lee's Summit R-7 School District, approximately 20 percent of the student enrollment qualify for free or reduced price meals. The prices for a paid breakfast and lunch are determined by the School Board and the price of a reduced price meal is established by the federal government. To meet all students with reduced price meals eligibility, Food and Nutrition Services has reduced these prices to 40 cents for lunch and 30 cents for breakfast. They are subsidizing these meals from other food sales and a la carte..

 
 NUTRIENT STANDARD MENU PLANNING: To ensure that our menus are nutritionally adequate, a nutritional analysis is completed on all of our menus.  When averaged over a school week, our menus are designed to provide choices of foods that will meet specific nutrient standards for specific age/grade groups.  The Nutrient Analysis is available monthly for all grade levels on our website.

                                                                        

FOOD SAFETY: Food safety and sanitation are critical, ongoing processes that require strict procedures and training. All of our food service staff have had training in safe food handling procedures and carry a Food Handler's Permit issued by The City of Independence.  In addition, many of our staff have had an additional 10 hours of training in food safety and sanitation and are Serv-Safe certified by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

                                                                        
ALLERGIES: Students with allergies are permitted food substitutions when supported by a statement from a recognized medical authority. A recognized medical authority may be a doctor, a nurse, or a physician's assistant. Since most allergies continue, it is not necessary for a new statement to be secured each year. Please be aware that Nutrition Services CANNOT make any substitutions or omissions without a signed medical statement.   

                                                                                                            
BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. It "breaks" the night's "fast" and replaces the energy reserves our body used overnight. Recent studies have revealed that students who don't miss breakfast have improved test scores, increased attention span, and reduced absenteeism. Breakfast is served in all of our schools; encourage your children to take advantage of this valuable meal.

                                                                           

A Nutritious breakfast should include:

Whole grain bread and/or cereal

Fruits or fruit juices

Milk, cheese, or yogurt

Eggs, nuts, or meats

 

Research Supporting the Value of School Breakfast:

Harvard Medical School Researcher Shows Breakfast Improves Behavior & Performance

University of Minnesota Fast Break to Learning School Breakfast Program Executive Summary (pdf)

Summary of Current Research Materials on School Breakfast (pdf)

 
 

For additional information, please call 816-986-2200

Copyright Notice: No portion of this page may be copied without permission of the web author. Contact the Nutrition Services webmaster
This page contains links to outside sources.  
The Lee's Summit R-7 School District is not responsible for any content housed/published on those sites.