Child Nutrition

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Meal Accounts, Prices and Payments

Student Meal Accounts

Eden Prairie Schools has a computerized meal system called Infinite Campus. Each student is assigned a personal identification number (PIN) that corresponds to their individual meal account. Deposits to meal accounts (cash or check) can be sent to school with students any day of the week for any amount, or funds can be deposited online through your parent portal account on a one-time or recurring basis. Funds remaining in the account at the end of the school year will carry over to the following year.  Parents can log into the parent portal through Infinite Campus to access their student’s meal account and view cafeteria purchases. 

Please remember that meal accounts are not intended to be a charge account.  Parents/guardians will be notified by e-mail when the account balance is $10 or less on Tuesdays and Fridays after 4 p.m. through Infinite Campus. Parents/guardians may set up reminder parameters in the parent portal by choosing the recurring payment method. You must check your parent portal account often if you do not choose to set up recurring payments.

If you wish to place a daily spending limit on your child's meal account or limit what items can be purchased, please call your school's cashier.

Adding Funds to Your Student's Meal Account Online

The district uses the online system in the Parent Portal for parents to add funds to student meal accounts. (Fees for activities, sports, and transportation are paid through Fee Pay.) Please take a look at the directions to find your notifications for your child's meal account. You must check your parent portal account often if you do not choose to set up recurring payments.

If you have questions or need help with logging into the Parent Portal, please call the parent helpline at 952-975-7094.

 

Current Prices

Breakfast
  • K-6: $1.80
  • 7-12: $2.05
  • Adult: $2.25
  • Second Breakfast: $2.30

Lunch

  • PreK-6: $3.00
  • 7-12: $3.35
  • Adult: $4.00
  • Second lunch: $3.70
  • Additional milk: $0.55

All menu items are also available a la carte. Prices for individual menu items are available from the cashier. A la carte items and Mega Bites (an extra entrée) do not qualify as free/reduced price lunch options. A student’s account is charged the full price of the item(s) purchased. Parents of students (and siblings) who visit for lunch and purchase a meal must pay full-price, even if the student receives free/reduced priced lunch benefits.

Free and Reduced-Price Meal Benefits

Families who wish to apply for the Minnesota Department of Education’s free and reduced-price school meals program can now complete and submit the application online. (Note that to complete the application online it is necessary to allow pop-ups in your web browser.) Please note a new application must be submitted each year.

  • The online application can be accessed through the Parent Portal. Once logged in, click on More, then Meal Benefits in the left sidebar.

The application is also available to download, print and submit via mail or drop off.  A letter approving/denying benefits will be mailed to your home address after the application has been processed.  It is the parent's responsibility to have money on the student's meal account until the application has been approved. 

View additional information on how and where students can receive their free/reduced-price meal.

If you have questions, please call 952-975-8055.

Nondiscrimination statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

Minimum Price for Adults and Other Non-Program Meals

School nutrition programs funds may not subsidize non-program meals. Meals that are served to adults (and any non-reimbursable meals such as second lunches) must be priced high enough so that the cost of these meals is fully paid for by the customer.

At a minimum, the meal charge must be equal to the full amount of reimbursements received for a student free meal including the cost for lunches and the value of commodities.

Breakfast Info

Breakfast consists of the following food components:

  • Fruits (or vegetable substitutions)
  • Grains or optional meat/meat alternatives such as yogurt
  • Milk

Students at any grade level must select at least three components (one food item may count as two components, e.g. pancakes).  One of the choices selected must be at least a 1/2 cup serving of fruit or vegetable.

All kindergarten students can eat breakfast at no charge.

Angel Fund

Eden Prairie School District Child Nutrition Office maintains an Angel Fund at each site that is funded by donations. The Angel Fund gives our community an opportunity to share with those in need right in our own school district.  The funds are used to assist families in our community that need assistance paying for meals for their children. Donations can come from individuals, businesses and charitable foundations.

Many families donate the balance left in a student's account when they graduate or leave the district. Every bit helps! You may designate the site you would like your donation to go to. Donations may be sent to the Child Nutrition Office at 17185 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, MN  55346.

Thank you for your help in supporting our students.

Nutrition, Allergies, Recycling and Wellness Resources

Nutrition Resources

School Meals

Eden Prairie Schools’ Food Service offers well-balanced, healthy meals meeting federal nutrition standards. A few facts about school meals:

  • No more than 30% of calories come from fat, less than 10% from saturated fat.
  • Meals provide 1/3 of Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium.
  • Age-appropriate portion sizes.
  • Fruits/vegetables are offered every day.
  • Salad bars provide locally sourced produce when available.
  • Breads baked daily in the full bakery at the EPHS.

School Nutrition programs are working to make healthy meals kid-friendly by:

  • Making homemade soups and sauces and some dressings in our central kitchen.
  • Testing items to get student views on what we are serving or thinking about serving.
  • Reformulating student favorites to make them more healthy, such as serving pizza on whole grain bread with low-sodium sauce and low-fat cheese.
  • Using oat bran in all our bread recipes to make them a whole grain product.
  • Incorporating culturally appropriate foods to meet the tastes of our diverse student populations and provide alternative foods for students with dietary restrictions and allergies.

Food companies are responding to calls for more nutritious options by reformulating processed foods with healthier ingredients, less fat, less sodium, and less sugar. For example, pizzas are increasingly made with whole grain crusts, low-sodium sauce and reduced fat cheese; chicken nuggets use a whole grain breading and are baked rather than deep-fried; and french fries are often without trans fat and baked instead of fried. Many schools are now serving baked sweet potato fries.

Milk Choices
Eden Prairie Schools offers skim, 1%, and skim chocolate milk. According to the USDA, 70% of girls and 60% of boys (ages 6-11) do not consume the recommended daily amount of calcium. Experts agree that to ensure intake of calcium, vitamin D, protein and other nutrients important for growth and development, it is better for children and adolescents to drink flavored milk than to avoid milk all together which is why chocolate milk is offered as an option. Flavored milk delivers the same nutrient package as regular milk and 2005 Dietary Guidelines state that small amounts of sugars added to nutrient-dense foods, such as reduced-fat milk products, may enhance the taste, thus improving nutrient intake without contributing excessive calories.

Farm to School
Nationwide, farm to school programs connect schools with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing health and nutrition education opportunities that will last a lifetime, and supporting local small farmers.

Our average Health Inspection score for school year 2017-18 was 97.05.  Every school's individual inspection report is posted in each kitchen.

Food and Nutrition Resources
The Minnesota Nutrition Council, Inc. and Midwest Dairy has developed a resource list of websites and books for use with consumer audiences. (The content of these sites is not controlled by the Eden Prairie School District.) Click on areas below for more detail:

Child Nutrition Corner
Farm to School Highlights 2019-20

Food Allergies

School district staff works to protect specific children from potential food allergies. 

Many children in the district have life threatening allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Child nutrition staff will label manufactured food that have the peanut and tree nut warning at the elementary level.

It is important to note that many food items that are served including buns, bread, cookies and cakes are made in our school district bakery. Peanut butter sandwiches are also made at each school on a regular basis.

Food service staff clean and sanitize all items that have any potential for cross contamination with peanut or tree nut products. This process is an effort to prevent any potential risk for our students with these life threatening allergies.

Families may need to provide lunch from home if this slight possibility is a concern for their student.

Contact Us

Roxann Roushar, Director of Child Nutrition
RRoushar@edenpr.org or (952) 975-8051
 
Kristin Treptow, Child Nutrition Coordinator
KTreptow@edenpr.org or (952) 975-8053

Food Recycling Program

Recycling Food Waste Saves District Money

The process for recycling and trash removal is as follows: all our trash and recycling, after we sort it, is taken to a sorting station in Minneapolis where it is sorted again. The trash is burned in an incinerator and the energy is used to heat Target Field and many office building in the Minneapolis area. Learn more about how it works! 

Waste Management System

The system to manage waste at Eden Prairie Schools consists of garbage, cardboard recycling, food and beverage container recycling (cans, glass, plastics), food donation and food waste recycling by feeding it to livestock. At the schools, compactors and dumpsters are dedicated to garbage; loose cardboard is baled for recycling; food and beverage containers (cans, glass, plastic) are collected in barrels for recycling; edible excess food is set aside for food donation; and food waste is collected in barrels for livestock feeding.Was

Livestock Feeding Program

Eden Prairie Schools uses Barthold Farms, a network of family farms that recycle food waste from commercial waste generators in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The farms recycle food waste by cooking it and feeding it to hogs. 

Food waste is generated in two areas of the school district's food service operation:

  • At the Nutrition Center located in the Eden Prairie High School where food for district-wide lunches are prepared, cooked, chilled and temporarily stored before delivery to all district schools.
  • At the cafeteria in each school where food is prepared and lunch is served to students and staff.


The district's livestock feeding program is integrated into the Nutrition Center's food service operation at Eden Prairie High School:

  •  Barthold Farms provides the high school with food waste collection barrels to collect food waste for recycling. These barrels have a capacity of 32 gallons and have lids and wheels. Full and empty collection barrels are temporarily stored inside the shipping and receiving area next to the high school's loading dock.
  • Each weekday morning the Nutrition Center fills "cold carts" with chilled and packaged food cooked the previous day. Cold carts keep the food cold as it is being delivered to schools on two district-owned delivery trucks. When the cold carts arrive at the schools, food service employees heat and serve the food for lunch.
  • During the lunch periods, food waste is separated into collection barrels by students and staff in the school cafeterias. Full collection barrels are temporarily staged at the school loading docks.
  • After lunch has been served, empty cold carts and full food waste collection barrels are picked up at the schools and transported back to the high school. Empty cold carts are returned to the Nutrition Center and full food waste collection barrels are consolidated at the high school's loading dock.
  • Barthold Farms pick up full collection barrels five days a week at the high school.

Quantity Diverted

Eden Prairie Schools diverts an average of 10-15 tons of food waste per month to livestock feeding.

The Economics

By managing the food waste generated separately from its garbage stream, Eden Prairie Schools saves on its trash hauling and disposal costs.

Other Benefits

In addition to cost savings, Eden Prairie Schools has experienced other benefits because the food waste it generates is managed separately from its garbage stream:

  • Improved workers safety because heavy garbage bags no longer need to be lifted into garbage dumpsters.
  • Improved labor efficiencies because of fewer employee trips to empty garbage into compactors and dumpsters.
  • Increased cleanliness of operations due to elimination of liquid waste from the garbage stream.
  • Reduction in odor due to elimination of food waste from the garbage stream.
  • Reduction in the use and maintenance of in-sink garbage disposals.
  • Improved inventory management because food waste is separate and more visible to foodservice employees.

Wellness Committee

All school districts that participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs are required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Act) to have a wellness policy that includes standards and nutrition guidelines for foods and beverages made available to students on campus during the school day, as well as, specific goals for nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that to promote student wellness. The Act requires the involvement of parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, school administrators, and the public in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the wellness policy.

The district's wellness policy (533) can be viewed under District Policies in the 500 series.

Wellness Nutrition Summary Wellness Summary

Child Nutrition Presentation-Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act-Breakfast and lunch meal pattern requirements.

The Wellness Advisory Committee partnering with administration and Hennepin County Public Health to increase the use of Mindfulness and Movement in our schools. Mindfulness and Movement Summary 

Contact Us

Roxann Roushar, Director of Child Nutrition RRoushar@edenpr.org or (952) 975-8051

Kristin Treptow, Child Nutrition Coordinator KTreptow@edenpr.org or (952) 975-8053