Frequently Asked Questions

Answer:

No. Breakfast is available and offered to all students and faculty on 32 campuses in Spring Branch. The Texas Legislature mandated the Breakfast Program in 1978 for all schools where 10% of enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced meals on campus. The breakfast meal pattern must include milk, fruit or fruit juice or vegetable juice, bread or cereal with meat or meat alternate served often, as well as including vitamin C and iron rich foods. Breakfast is a sound nutritional benefit. Studies show that students who have breakfast are more alert, do well in morning classes and have fewer discipline problems.

Answer:

Offer versus serve as established in October 1975 when Public Law 94-105 mandated that students in high school would not be required to accept offered foods they did not intend to consume. At the middle school and elementary levels, the policy is optional and it is up to each individual district to decide whether they wish to extend offer vs. serve to the middle or elementary level. Spring Branch Food Service Department has opted to extend offer vs. serve to include the elementary and middle schools.

The five components of a lunch meal include:

• meat or meal alternate
• fruit
• vegetable
• bread or bread alternate
• milk.

As long as the student takes three of the five items, the meal will be counted as a complete meal and eligible for reimbursement.

Answer:

No. As a department, we are required to offer milk but students are not required to take a milk with their breakfast or lunch meal.

Answer:

No. The purpose of the offer vs. serve program is to reduce plate waste and allow students a choice in what they wish to have for lunch. The student may take everything if he desires;as a result, there is no reduction in price.

Answer: 

Alerts on students account can only be added by the Child Nutrition Department. The alerts must only pertain to dietary accommodations after we have received a valid medical condition request per the Diet Modification Form. 

Answer:

Yes! You can place limits on the amount of ala carte purchases your child makes on their School Cafe account. 

Answer:

Payments can be made at your child's school cafeteria or online at School Cafe for an on-line payment. 

Answer:

The intent of the National School Lunch Program is to provide nutritious and low cost meals to children. Since this program is for children, there is no federal assistance for meals served to adults. Therefore, the adult meal charge has to be at least a combination of the basic reimbursement rate plus the guaranteed value of USDA commodities (per plate) and higher than the highest charge to the child in the school district. An adult should receive the same size meal as that of a secondary student for the established charge.

Answer:

Because food, labor and other costs vary so greatly throughout the state of Texas, an established charge for all students would not be feasible. In this district, the food service department maintains a self-supporting operation.