Apply for free or reduced-price lunch Many students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. A completed School Meals Application enables eligible students to eat lunch for free or at a reduced price of 25 cents. Students who do not return an application or are not eligible for a free or reduced-price meal must pay $1.50 for lunch starting on the first day of school. Students who attended City schools during the 2011-2012 school year retain their meal payment status for the opening of the 2012-2013 school year. You can return a completed paper application to your child’s school or apply online at nyc.applyforlunch.com
or nyc.gov/accessnyc. You only need to complete one application for all children (pre-k to high school) in your household.
NUTRITIOUS & DELICIOUS Salad bars, fresh produce rule school meals The school system’s more than 1,000 salad bars are perhaps its biggest hit.
The school lunch line isn’t what it used to be. Fried, high-fat, salt-laden foods are out. In their place are a whole lot of healthy choices, including fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain pizza and pasta, low-fat milk and salad bars sporting a colorful array of produce, from spinach and mixed lettuces to carrots and red peppers. Some schools even have gardens where students grow food for the cafeteria.
Kids routinely help themselves It’s all part of a cutting-edge redesign of to vegetables New York City’s school food program, daily. which serves an incredible 860,000 meals a day. The school system, for instance, has led the nation in reducing sodium, fat, and cholesterol in menu items. It has also eliminated trans fats and is reducing the number of products containing high fructose corn syrup. The Department of Education (DOE) began reformulating school menus in 2004 to reduce rates of childhood obesity: currently, SEPTEMBER 2012 – Expect Success
close to 40 percent of public school kids are overweight or obese. The nutritional overhaul has helped lower the number of calories children consume in school. Foods that were once fried, such as French fried potatoes, are now baked. Water has replaced soda in school vending machines and is available in cafeterias. Even snacks are healthier, with some refrigerated vending machines selling fresh-cut fruit. This September, the school menu will include new seasonings, such as Cajun spices and Indian garam masala, more whole grain products, and additional servings of vegetables, courtesy of the federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, the first major school-meal reform in over 30 years. DOE is working to have salad bars in all schools by 2015.
For more information, visit NYC.gov and search for School Food. 3