Welcome to the Food Services Department
The School Town of Munster Food Service Department serves nutritious and delicious meals to the students and staff of our schools. Nutrition has a direct impact on student learning, so we make it our mission to ensure all students have access to breakfast and lunch every day.
- Breakfast and Lunch Menus
- Add Money to Your Student's Account
- Free and Reduced Information
- Breakfast and Lunch Pricing
- Ala Carte Pricing
- Meal Charge Policy - Student Lunch/Meal Accounts
- Offer vs. Serve Policy
- Wellness Policy
- Super Chat Podcast with Erin West, Dietitian
Breakfast and Lunch Menus
Add Money to Your Student's Account
Free and Reduced Information
What is the Free & Reducing Meal Program
Intro
If you have any questions, please call 219.836.3200 ext. 3229.
- Who can get free or reduced priced meals?
- How do I know if my children qualify as homeless, migrant or runaway?
- Do I need to fill out an application for each child?
- Should I fill our an application if I received a letter this school year saying my children are already approved for free meals?
- Can I apply online?
- My child's application was approved last year. Do I need to fill out a new one?
- Should I fill out an application if my children received free or reduced meals at their previous school?
- I get WIC. Can my children get free meals?
- Will the information I give be verified?
- If I don't qualify now, may I apply again later?
- What if I disagree with the school's decision?
- May I apply if someone in my household is not a U.S. citizen?
- What if my income is not always the same?
- What if some household members have not income to report?
- We are in the military. Do we report our income differently?
- What if there isn't enough space on the application for my family?
- My family needs more help. Are there other programs we might apply for?
Who can get free or reduced priced meals?
How do I know if my children qualify as homeless, migrant or runaway?
Do I need to fill out an application for each child?
Should I fill our an application if I received a letter this school year saying my children are already approved for free meals?
Can I apply online?
My child's application was approved last year. Do I need to fill out a new one?
Should I fill out an application if my children received free or reduced meals at their previous school?
I get WIC. Can my children get free meals?
Will the information I give be verified?
If I don't qualify now, may I apply again later?
What if I disagree with the school's decision?
May I apply if someone in my household is not a U.S. citizen?
What if my income is not always the same?
What if some household members have not income to report?
We are in the military. Do we report our income differently?
What if there isn't enough space on the application for my family?
My family needs more help. Are there other programs we might apply for?
Free & Reduced Meal Aplication
Click here for step-by-step instructions on How to apply for Free and Reduced Meals.
Click here to access the Free & Reduced Meal Application.
If you have any questions, please contact Beverly Taylor at 219.836.3200 ext. 3229 or Beverly.Taylor@compass-usa.com.
Breakfast and Lunch Pricing
Ala Carte Pricing
Meal Charge Policy - Student Lunch/Meal Accounts
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) requires school food authorities to establish written administrative guidelines and procedures for meal charges.
The School Town of Munster Corporation will adhere to the following meal charge procedure.
- It is the student’s responsibility to maintain the balance of his or her meal account and the parents’ responsibility to keep a positive meal balance in their students’ accounts.
- Cashiers make every effort to notify students and the parent/guardian of low and negative account balances. In addition, weekly messages will be sent via email to remind families when a student’s lunch account has a negative balance. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents to monitor their student(s) meal account balance. This can be done through the parent portal of Power School or through the school’s online payment program; www.myschoolbucks.com.
- To make a payment Parents can: • Send cash or check in a sealed envelope with the students name and grade with their child to school, or • Prepay online by visiting www.myschoolbucks.com.
- If a family has applied for free or reduced-price meals and have a "Pending" application, it is the parent’s responsibility to pay for all school meals until an Approval Letter is received. *Any charges incurred before the approval of meal assistance must be paid in full by the parent/guardian as applications cannot be applied retroactively.
- If a family’s financial situation has changed, students may qualify for free or reduced lunch assistance. Meal assistance applications can be found on the School Town of Munster website or at the students’ school office.
- No student will be denied a meal, and no lunch tray will ever be taken from a student. A student may charge to their account as long as they establish and maintain a good credit history of making payments. If a student abuses this policy, written notice will be provided to the parent(s)/guardian(s) and the privilege of charging meals may be refused.
- In the event that a student’s meal account balance falls below $0, the student may not charge or purchase "a la carte" item(s), including extra main entrees and extra milk.
- If a student repeatedly comes to school with no lunch and no money, food service employees must report this to the building principal as this may be a sign of abuse or neglect and the proper authorities should be contacted.
- The School Town of Munster’s Food Service Department communicates by School Messenger (and/or email alerts) any negative balances in the student’s meal account on a weekly basis. For your convenience, a "low balance notification" email reminder can be setup on www.myschoolbucks.com.
- All accounts must be settled by the end of the school year. Letters will be sent home during the beginning of May to students who have any negative balances. Negative balances of more than $10.00 not paid in full five (5) days after the last day of school will force the School Town of Munster to take-action to collect unpaid funds by means of collection agencies, small claims court, or any other legal method deemed necessary by the Corporation.
- Graduating students or withdrawn seniors with a lunch/meal account positive balance greater than $10 (ten) will be notified by School Messenger of the options for dispersing the funds.
- Parents may transfer the funds to another student, donate the money to the STM food service donation fund, or request.
- If no response is received within fifteen (15) days from the date of the notification, the student’s lunch account will be closed and funds will be forfeited.
- Graduating and/or withdrawn students with less than $10 in their account will not receive direct notification of positive balances. Balances can be accessed online through My School Bucks or PowerSchool. Parents may opt into any of the options listed above.
*Any unclaimed funds will be transferred to the STM food service donation fund.
Please contact Mrs. Beverly Taylor @ 219.836.3200 ext. 3229 or by email at btaylor@munster.us if you have any questions.
Offer vs. Serve Policy
Wellness Policy
As required by law, the School Board establishes the following wellness policy for the School Corporation as a part of a comprehensive wellness initiative.
The Board recognizes that good nutrition and regular physical activity affect the health and well-being of the Corporation's students. Furthermore, research suggests that there is a positive correlation between a student's health and well-being and his/her ability to learn. Moreover, schools can play an important role in the developmental process by which students establish their health and nutrition habits by providing nutritious meals and snacks through the schools' meal programs, by supporting the development of good eating habits, and by promoting increased physical activity both in and out of school.
The Board, however, believes this effort to support the students' development of healthy behaviors and habits with regard to eating and exercise cannot be accomplished by the schools alone. It will be necessary for not only the staff, but also parents and the public at large to be involved in a community-wide effort to promote, support, and model such healthy behaviors and habits.
The Board sets the following goals in an effort to enable students to establish good health and nutrition habits:
- With regard to nutrition education, the Corporation will implement programs:
- With regard to physical activity, the Corporation will develop the following:
- With regard to other school-based activities the Corporation will develop guidelines in which:
- With regard to nutrition promotion, the Corporation will do the following:
With regard to nutrition education, the Corporation will implement programs:
- Which will be included in the Health curriculum so that instruction is sequential and standards-based and provides students with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to lead healthy lives.
- Which will be integrated into other subject areas of the curriculum, when appropriate, to complement, but not replace the standards and benchmarks for health education.
- Which will be age-appropriate and culturally relevant with participatory activities such as contests, promotions, taste tests, and others.
- Which will extend beyond the classroom by engaging and involving the school's food service staff, families and the community.
- n the school cafeteria which will serve as a learning lab, shall display nutrition education posters and allow students to apply the knowledge and skills taught in the classroom when making choices at mealtime.
- Which will reinforce lifelong balance by emphasizing the link between caloric intake (eating) and exercise in ways that are age-appropriate.
- Which will include a focus on media literacy as it related to food marketing strategies.
- Which will promote the benefits of a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparation methods, and health enhancing nutrition practices.
- In professional development which will enable staff to better teach benchmarks and standards.
- In public information to parents to encourage them to reinforce a healthy lifestyle at home and the standards taught in the classroom.
With regard to physical activity, the Corporation will develop the following:
- A sequential, comprehensive physical education program shall be provided for students in K-12 in accordance with the standards and benchmarks established by the State.
- Physical education classes which will provide students with opportunities to learn, practice, and be assessed on developmentally appropriate motor and social skills and which stress the importance of remaining physically active for life.
- Planned instruction in physical education that will meet the needs of all students, including those who are not athletically gifted and shall encourage cooperation, fair play and responsible participation.
- Planned instruction in physical education shall require students to be engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least fifty percent (50%) of scheduled class time.
- Regular physical activity as a personal behavior; in which classroom health education will complement physical education by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities.
- Physical activity and movement which will be incorporated into other subject lessons when possible.
- Schools which encourage families to provide physical activity outside the regular school day, such as outdoor play at home, participation in sports sponsored by community agencies and in lifelong physical activities like bowling, swimming or tennis.
- Grades K-5 in which all students will be provided with a daily recess period at least fifteen (15) minutes in duration.
With regard to other school-based activities the Corporation will develop guidelines in which:
- Free drinking water shall be available to students during designated meal times and may be available throughout the school day.
- The schools will provide at least thirty (30) minutes daily for students to eat in a clean, attractive environment.
- The schools which have club or organizational meetings or activities during meal times will make arrangements for students to eat during such activities.
- The schools will provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat.
- The schools utilize electronic identification and payment systems, therefore, eliminating any stigma or identification of students eligible to receive free and/or reduced-price meals.
With regard to nutrition promotion, the Corporation will do the following:
Furthermore, with the objectives of enhancing student health and well-being, and reducing childhood obesity, the following guidelines are established:
- In accordance with Policy 8500-Food Service, the food service program shall comply with Federal and State regulations pertaining to the selection, preparation, consumption, and disposal of food and beverages as well as to the fiscal management of the program.
- The sale of foods of minimal nutritional value in the food service area during the lunch period is prohibited.
- As set forth in Policy 8531-Free and Reduced Price Meals, the guidelines for reimbursable school meals are not less restrictive than the guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- The sale to students of foods and beverages that do not meet the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards to be consumed on the school campus during the school day is prohibited. Competitive foods available for purchase by students à la carte in the dining area, foods or beverages sold from vending machines, and foods and beverages provided by the school or school staff for classroom parties or holiday celebrations are subject to this prohibition.
- All foods that are provided, not sold, on the school campus during the school day, including foods and beverages provided for classroom parties or holiday celebrations shall comply with the food and beverage standards approved by the Superintendent.
- The Food Service Department shall comply with State Law and Indiana Department of Education/Food and Nutrition guidelines.
- In addition, the food service program:
- Shall serve, through the National School Lunch Program, attractive, nutritious and appealing meals.
- Shall strive to be financially self-supporting; however, if it is necessary to subsidize the operation, it will not be through the sale of foods with minimal nutritional value.
- Will provide all students affordable access to the varied and nutritious foods they need to be healthy and to learn well.
- Will require all food items and beverages available for sale to students for consumption on campus between 12:01 am and thirty (30) minutes after the close of the regular school day shall comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA’s Smart Snacks in Schools regulations, including, but not limited to, competitive foods that are available to students à la carte in the dining area, as well as food items and beverages from vending machines, school stores, or fund-raisers by student clubs and organizations, parent groups, or boosters clubs.
- Shall be administered by a director who is properly qualified, certified, licensed, or credentialed, according to current professional standards.
- Shall provide continuing professional development for all food service staff.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines necessary to implement this policy.
The Superintendent shall appoint a Corporation wellness committee that includes parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, nutritionists or certified dieticians, educational staff (including health and physical education teachers), mental health and social services staff, school health professionals, the School Board, school administrators, and members of the public to oversee the development, implementation, evaluation, and periodic update, if necessary, of the wellness policy. School level health advisory teams may assist in the planning and implementation of these Wellness initiatives.
The wellness committee shall be an ad hoc committee of the Board with members recruited and appointed annually.
The wellness committee may:
- measure the implementation of the Corporation’s wellness policy in each of the Corporation’s schools;
- review the Corporation’s current wellness policy;
- recommend revision of the policy, as appropriate; and
- present the wellness policy, with any recommended revisions, to the Board for approval or re-adoption if revisions are recommended.
Before the end of each school year, the wellness committee shall submit to the Superintendent their report in which they describe the environment in each of the Corporation’s schools and the implementation of the wellness policy in each school, and identify any revisions to the policy the committee deems necessary. In its review, the Wellness Committee shall consider evidence-based strategies in determining its recommendations.
The Superintendent shall report to the Board on the work of the wellness committee, including their assessment of the environment in the Corporation, their evaluation of wellness policy implementation Corporation-wide, and the areas for improvement, if any, that the committee identified. The committee also shall report on the status of compliance by individual schools and progress made in attaining goals established in the policy.
The Superintendent also shall be responsible for informing the public, including parents, students and community members, on the content and implementation of this policy. The wellness policy will be posted on the Corporation's website.
The Corporation shall assess the Wellness Policy at least once every three (3) years on the extent to which schools in the Corporation comply with the Corporation policy and the progress made in attaining the goals of the Corporation Wellness Policy. To ensure continuing progress, the Corporation will evaluate implementation efforts and their impact on students and staff using tools provided by the State and Federal government.
Super Chat Podcast with Erin West, Dietitian
Hans Oskam
Director of Dining Services
hoskam@munster.us
219.836.3200 Ext. 3230
Beverly Taylor
Assistant Director of Dining Services
btaylor@munster.us
219.836.3200 Ext. 3229
Erin West
Dietitian
ekwest@munster.us
219.836.3200 Ext. 3240
Wendy Dorabialski
Supervisor -
James B. Eads
wsdorabialski@munster.us
219.836.8635 Ext. 7476
Mark Linn
Supervisor -
Frank H. Hammond
mark.linn@compass-usa.com
219.838.2060 Ext. 6236
Becky Hauter
Supervisor -
Ernest R. Elliott
rdhauter@munster.us
219.838.5250 Ext. 5480
Richard Soto
Supervisor -
Wilbur Wright MS
richard.soto@compass-usa.com
219.836.6260 Ext. 2266
Amanda Vance
Supervisor -
Munster High School
amanda.vance@compass-usa.com
219.836.3200 Ext. 3228