FREE Breakfast and Lunch Meals for ALL Students

Dear CCS Families,

Carmel Clay Schools Food and Nutrition Services is pleased to announce that the USDA has approved a nationwide emergency waiver due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic that allows ALL students to receive FREE school meals. On September 9th, Indiana Department of Education gave Indiana schools the approval to immediately implement this program. This USDA waiver will be in effect until December 31st or until USDA funds run out (whichever is first). Once the waiver or funds expire, breakfast and lunch meals will return to the normal price.

What is considered a free meal? Students can receive 1 FREE lunch and 1 FREE breakfast per school day. Meals must meet the existing USDA guidelines in order to be free. This includes an entrée, fruit, vegetable and milk. The meal must contain at least 3 components, one must be a fruit or vegetable.

How do I know if my child is purchasing a meal that qualifies as free? As a result of this change, we will be modifying our service to ensure that all students who purchase an entree will have the minimum choices necessary to qualify as a free meal. For example: If a student chooses a sandwich entree or a salad entree, they will be asked to also choose a fruit or vegetable to make it a full meal. Students may continue to purchase ala carte items and extra entrees at current pricing.

Why must meals meet certain guidelines to be FREE? The USDA wants to ensure that school meals meet K-12 nutritional guidelines.

Will my student still use their lunch account? Yes, students will still use student lunch accounts to track purchases. Families can continue to deposit money into EZSchoolPay for the purchase of ala carte foods. In the coming days, CCS Food Services will be crediting student accounts for any qualified full meal charges of Paid or Reduced-price breakfasts and lunches, retroactive to September 1st. Do I need to pre-order meals? No. Pre-orders are ONLY needed if your family is utilizing the Hybrid Learner Meal Program or the Virtual Learner Meal Program. Click on the links below for information on both programs. We will continue to offer Grab & Go meal bags for Hybrid students and Virtual meal bags for the days students are learning at home. These services will now be FREE (through the end of December or until USDA waiver funds run out) for all families, but you MUST sign up to participate in either program.

Hybrid Learners Meal Program – Grab & Go!

Virtual Learners Meal Program – Pick-Up!

Are school meals and the school meal environment safe? Details about the precautions CCS is taking can be found on the CCS website at https://www.ccs.k12.in.us/about/covid19-information. We have made the necessary modifications to the way our food is served to ensure that our students are safe and continue to make the school cafeteria a positive experience for our students.

Do I still need to complete a Free/Reduced application if I think I qualify? This program is currently only in effect until December 31, 2020 or until USDA waiver funds run out. At that time, student eligibility status will revert back to either Paid, Free, or Reduced. Textbook assistance will still require a student to qualify for Free/Reduced via the meal application in order to qualify for assistance. If you were approved for Free/Reduced, that status remains in effect for the entire school year. If you have not yet applied, but believe you may be eligible, you may submit a Free/Reduced application at any time. Thank you for your continued support of the CCS Food & Nutrition Department!

Jennifer McFarland, RD Director of Food & Nutrition Services Carmel Clay Schools

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.