Dear Parent or Guardian:
The 2018-2019 school year is upon us and Fresh Picks Café is pleased to once again manage your school’s Food Service Program. Fresh Picks Café (a division of Café Services) is a locally owned and operated company dedicated to serving delicious, wholesome, quality meals that meet the latest nutritional guidelines. As a refresher, here are some of the features your children enjoy through your district’s partnership with Fresh Picks Cafe:
1.)
Menus:
This year we continue to offer interactive Menus through Nutrislice. You now have the option to download the Nutrislice app to your mobile device and check your student’s menu choices daily. Ingredients, allergen and nutritional data for all items served can be viewed from this app. Interactive menus are also available online and can be viewed and printed using the link on your school web page.
Sanborn Regional Middle School and Sanborn Regional High School have the following stations offering a variety of daily lunch choices. Signature Café featuring “Home Made” Entrees, “Build it Bars” and “Tossed to Order” Entrée Salads; Market Fresh which features a daily selection of Entrée Salads as well as Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits; Pizza featuring quality Fresh Baked Pizza made with whole grain dough and low fat cheeses; Café Express offers Hot “Grab and Go” Sandwiches and the Deli serves “Made to Order” Deli Sandwiches.
DJ Bakie and Memorial Elementary Schools offer a wide selection of choices each day that include items such as Market Fresh Salads & Yogurt Parfaits, the Signature Café Entrée of the day and a Downtown Deli Sandwich option.
Additionally, the cafeterias will be open prior to school each day to provide a complete nutritious breakfast featuring a wide range of hot and cold breakfast meal options. All breakfasts are accompanied by a variety of fruit selections to enable students choose a full, healthy meal to start their day.
To help students understand what constitutes a full meal, our innovative Strive for Five program features signage and color coded items in the cafeteria to help students make choices that are nutritious, balanced and stay within USDA standards for a full meal.
Fresh Picks Café is proud to present our Smart Snacks line of healthier packaged snack, beverage, and homemade snack options. We have expanded our grill and sauté Action Station concepts to include your school. Visit the Fresh Picks Café website and watch for details and news flashes on these exciting programs.
2.)
Meal Assistance Program:
The meal assistance program is a federally funded program that provides reduced and free meals to families that meet USDA income guidelines. Please contact your school administrative office or the food service director to obtain an application. Complete the application (only one application per household is required) and return it to your child’s school. You will then be notified of the benefit level for which you qualify. You can apply or reapply at any time during the school year should your financial situation change. The program is operated in strict confidence and all students go through the same checkout process in the cafeteria eliminating any distinction between students that are participating in the meal assistance program and those who are not.
Students on Meal Assistance Programs are entitled to a full meal from any of our stations at breakfast and at lunch. Snack items such as snack milk or snacks are available to all students for an additional charge.
3.)
Automated Point of Sale System:
The Sanborn School District has an automated point of sale system from MySchoolBucks. Parents will have 2 methods to fund their student’s account.
Option 1. Online Payments - You may set-up an online account using a Credit/Debit card to make deposits into your child’s account. In addition to providing you with a secure online payment option, the system will allow you instant access to details on what your child is purchasing in the cafeteria, as well as other convenience features such as automatic low balance alerts. This automated system will help increase the speed of service and allow students additional time for a more relaxing dining experience. Instructions for setting up your online account are available in print from your Food Service Director and posted on the Fresh Picks Cafe website.
Option 2. You may send a check with your child made payable to the Sanborn Schools Lunch Program. Please make sure to include the child’s name in the memo line. We encourage parents to either utilize the online payment method or to send in a check – cash can also be accepted, but is discouraged at the elementary school level.
Prepaid monies deposited by either method can be used for any purchases in the cafeteria, but at any time parents may contact the school food service supervisor and request that prepaid monies be used only for full meal purchases.
4.)
Credit Procedure:
Verbal notification of negative balances may be provided to parents or guardians. E-mail notification for students who are charging meals may be sent to the student’s household. Weekly or bi-weekly letters will be sent home and a referral to administration will be made for students who continue to charge for multiple days. Charging of snack items will not be allowed. Please refer to the school district’s charge procedures for further information.
5.)
Student Allergy / Special Needs Identification:
If your student has a medically documented food allergy or special need when it comes to food, your food service director will work closely with the school nurse and other personnel to ensure that your child’s specific needs are met. Please contact your Food Service Director with details.
6.)
Local Purchasing & Green Initiatives:
Fresh Picks Café has a robust local purchasing policy, and buys from local farms and food producers as much as possible. We are a strong supporter of the Farm to School initiative. We are also active in recycling and composting efforts. We are always looking to build new relationships with local farmers and environmentally conscious groups – please feel free to contact your food service director.
Sanborn School District Food Service Director:
Cara Green
603-642-3341 x132
sanborn@freshpickscafe.com
