Nutrition Services

Welcome to Nutrition Services

The Nutrition Services Department is made up of a team of food and nutrition professionals that are dedicated to students' health and well being. The Nutrition Department provides high quality nutritious meals to the students at Forest Lake Area School District so they can learn and develop for their future. Our department's services include breakfast, lunch, daycare meals, catering and other meals as needed. 

All food and beverages sold or served at schools meet state and federal requirements which are based on the USDA Dietary Guidelines. For many children, school lunch is the most important and nutrient-rich meal of the day. School lunch supplies one-third of their recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calories and key nutrients. Meals are kept to less than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat.

School Year Meal Information

2023-2024 school year meal prices

Starting this fall, Governor Walz signed the Free School Meals bill into law. This legislation provides one free breakfast and one free lunch per day.  The state funded Free School Meals Program must follow USDA guidelines for all school breakfast and lunch meals. These standards ensure meals are healthy, well balanced, and provide adequate nutrition they need to succeed at school. 

Student breakfast - $0.00

Student lunch - $0.00

Adult/Second Breakfast - $2.50

Adult/Second Student Lunch - $5.00

How to Pay for A la Carte items and Second Meals

A la Carte items and second meals can be pre-paid online through PayPams or payment can be dropped off at the office or sent with your child to school. These funds will be added to your child's school meal account.

Students us a PIN pad at the school cafeteria to pay for their food purchase via their school meal account.

Nutrition Services Meal Charging Policy

Free or Reduced Price Meals

Families who have previously qualified for free/reduced price meals should continue to apply for these benefits each year. Although meals are now fully covered by a state program, families
who qualify can receive other educational benefits through the district, such as reduced activity fees, musical instrument rentals and other reduced costs.

To qualify for these benefits, families must submit an application each year. Families may apply online at flaschools. org/nutrition or complete the paper application included in the center of this newsletter.

Families can apply for education benefits online (English and Spanish available) or print and fill out a paper application. Families should complete only one application per family. Translated versions of a paper application can be found below. 

Factors considered in the application process are whether your family receives Minnesota Family Investment Income (MFIP) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or your household size and total household income. HOUSEHOLD SIZE is considered all persons, related or unrelated: this includes parents, children, grandparents who live in your home and share living expenses. Foster children may be included in the household application as part of the household size. The TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME is the income each household member received last month before taxes: this includes wages, social security, pension, unemployment, welfare, child support, alimony, and any other cash income.

Income Eligibility Guidelines

Frequently Asked Questions

On-line Free and Reduced Application (English and Spanish)

Paper Application (English)

Paper Application (Spanish)

For applications in languages other than English or Spanish, go to:

www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/application/familyfriendlyapps.html

Dietary Accommodations

Dietary Accommodations are governed by both federal and state regulations. Regulations require that lactose reduced milk be made available to any student with a written request from a parent or guardian. If your child needs lactose reduced milk please submit the complete Milk Substitute Form to the cook manager at the school. 

All other requests for accommodations require a written statement from a licensed physician using the form below. The statement must include both the items the student cannot eat and the items that may be substituted for it. Although an annual update is not required, the district may request an updated document as needed.

Return original, completed Special Diet Form to the school nurse or cook manager for your child's school. All requests for modifications will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and require the involvement of a child nutrition central office administrator and school nursing services staff.

Student Wellness

Our District has developed a Wellness Policy  that is focused on improving the health of students. The policy was developed by the health and wellness advisory council that includes teachers, parents, administrators, and the district nurse.

Please note: The District Wellness Policy is periodically reviewed by the School Board's Policy Advisory Committee. Parents, students, community members, school staff or board members who have any feedback or input regarding the policy discussion may Donna Friedmann, Director of Administration and Human Resources at dfriedmann@flaschools.org.

Key Areas of our Wellness Policy

Balance is essential for any Wellness Policy. Key areas include:

Wellness Assessment:

Nutrition Education

Physical activity

Other school-based activities that are designed to promote student wellness.

Wellness Policy assessment requirements

WellSAT 3.0 District Scorecard

 

Non-Discrimination 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%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, 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; or (2) fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.