Child Nutrition - Eden Prairie ISD

Free School Meals for 2021-2022

Free breakfast and lunch will be provided to all students during in-person learning at every school for the entire 2021-2022 school year. In past years families needed to meet income requirements to qualify for free school meals. During the pandemic the USDA eased restrictions so schools could serve meals to all students free of charge, and schools can continue serving free meals to all students through June 2022.

Meals that qualify for this program must contain all the food components to make it a complete meal. Students only need funds in their food service account to make purchases such as a second lunch, an extra entrée (“megabites” at CMS and the elementary schools) and other individual (a la carte) items including milk.

Families who may qualify for free/reduced-price meal benefits should still complete the Application for Educational Benefits, as there are other benefits such as free or discounted sports fees, discounted internet access, etc. and, if extended, additional P-EBT funds. The school district also receives funding based on the number of students with free/reduced-price meal benefits. To apply:

Parent/guardians can access the online application in their Parent Portal. Click on “More” then “Meal Benefits.” If you need help with the Parent Portal, contact the Parent Helpline at 952-975-7094. The online application does not work on a mobile device.
Families can download an application here and return it to any school or the Welcome Center or mail it to the address on the form.
A completed application can be scanned and emailed to FoodService_Office@edenpr.org. Emailed applications must have a written (not typed) signature.

Change to Online Payments

This past summer Infinite Campus changed payment vendors used to process online payments for Food Service. Your children's food service accounts and the Parent Portal remained the same, however payment methods (card and account numbers) and recurring payments were not transferred during the change to the new vendor. Parents/guardians who want to make online payments will need to log into their Parent Portal and set up their payment method again (checking account/debit card/credit card) first, then create the recurring payment for each child’s food service account.

Funds are only needed in your child’s food service accounts if they wish to make a la carte purchases. School meals, if they have all the required food components, will be rung up at zero cost. However, only the first breakfast and first lunch each day are free.

If you have questions you can email FoodService_Office@edenpr.org or call 952-975-8055.

Menu Changes

School meal programs nationwide are experiencing many of the same supply chain issues that have impacted restaurants and grocery stores throughout the pandemic. Our school nutrition team is committed to ensuring students continue to have access to healthy meals each school day. Just as families had to make substitutions on grocery lists, schools will have to make some last-minute changes to our regular menus, based on availability.

We hope parents and students will be patient as we sort through these supply chain issues. We may not have the same menu choices that we typically offer our students, but we'll be sure that all students are nourished and ready to learn.

EP Foods That Inspire

Cook & chill: Scratch cooking delivered safely to your school

Child Nutrition staff in the production kitchen at Eden Prairie High School cook from scratch each day our soups, sauces and several entrées. Using our cook and chill system, these are packaged and refrigerated for next-day delivery to each of our district schools. Here's what's made fresh when it's served in school:

All soups served in Eden Prairie Schools
Spaghetti sauce (our most popular menu item; we hand-make more than 12,000 gallons of sauce annually)
Sloppy Joe
Taco meat (beef)
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Turkey gravy
Ranch salad dressing

Our district has an in-house bakery

Eden Prairie Schools Child Nutrition is in a class of its own with its full-service production bakery housed at Eden Prairie High School. We have a dedicated, central bakery that serves all of our schools. That means we do not need to add preservatives! Breads, buns and baked goods are made fresh daily. We're currently experimenting to prepare homemade baked goods that do not contain gluten.

Fresh-baked items include: Hamburger buns, hot dog buns, hoagie sandwich buns, tea biscuits, bread loaves, French bread, focaccia, bread bowls, cookies, fruit crisps, breakfast baked items and homemade granola.

People with gluten allergies should know that our gluten-sensitive products are made on the same equipment as our regular baked goods.

Farm fresh

Eden Prairie Schools works with local farms and vendors to source many of the foods that we serve. This is part of our meal planning and we're always looking for more ways to bring fresh foods to our tables.

Our fruit and vegetable suppliers source local produce as much as possible. We also work directly with growers and farmers for our apples and cheese:

Whole apples come from Bayfield Farm and Orchard, Wisconsin
Pre-packaged apples are from Richland Hills Farms, Wisconsin
Cheese is from Bongards Premium Cheese, Wisconsin

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.

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:

Another EP first: Rotisserie chicken

Nutrition, Allergies, Recycling and Wellness Resources

School Meal Standards

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.

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.

Chocolate milk is not served at breakfast.

Lunch consists of the following food components:

Fruit
Vegetable
Grains
Meat/Meat Alternate
Milk

Students must choose a fruit and/or vegetable plus at least two other full components.

Health Inspections:

Every school's individual inspection report is posted in each kitchen.

Promotions

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.

Food Recycling Program

Recycling Food Waste Saves District Money

All our trash and recycling, after it is sorted by our staff, 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 buildings in the Minneapolis area. Learn more about how it works!

Sing-along video on how to Recycle [spanish]

It's important to teach our students what items can and cannot be recycled. Please review the School Recycling Guide document for information on these items.

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 way of 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. Eden Prairie Schools partnered with Hennepin County to recycle more at Central Middle School (CMS).

View the video to learn our goals to better sort trash and utilize washable trays at CMS.

How waste is sorted in the Cafeteria

Milk cartons & juice boxes: where do they go?

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 meals are prepared, cooked, chilled and temporarily stored before delivery to all district schools.
At the cafeteria in each school where food is prepared and meals are 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 picks 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 food service 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

Wellness Policy Checklist

Triennial Assessment

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

Committee Agendas and Meeting Minutes

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. Please make checks payable to Eden Prairie School District. 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.) You must check your parent portal account often if you do not choose to set up recurring payments.

The Food Service tool allows parents access to the following food service information:

Current account balances
Transactions (food item purchases, account deposits of cash, check and credit card)
Account history (historical transaction records)

The tool can also be used to add funds to students’ accounts on either a one-time or recurring basis. The first step is to set up a payment method (credit/debit card or e-check). One-time payments do incur a fee; recurring payments incur a fee the first transaction, but not the subsequent transactions.

Adding money to a Food Service account (one-time):

Select Pay.
Enter the amount you want to add in the Amount field. If a box is not available for you to enter an amount, the account may not be active and you may need to contact your school.
Select Add to Cart.
Select My Cart. The Checkout Screen displays.
Select the Payment Method you want to use.
Select Submit Payment.

Automatically adding money to a Food Service account (recurring):

Select Recurring Payments.
Select a Frequency Option: Monthly or Low Balance and set the required dates and amounts.
Select the Payment Method you want to use.
Select Save.

If you need help logging into the Parent Portal, please call the parent helpline at 952-975-7094. If you have questions regarding Food Service please contact FoodService_Office@edenpr.org or call 952-975-8050.

Current Prices

Breakfast

K-6: $0
7-12: $0
Adult: $2.30
Second breakfast: $2.30

Lunch

PreK-6: $0
7-12: $0
Adult: $4.00
Second lunch: $3.80
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

Our schools provide healthy meals each day. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allowing schools to provide meals for the 2021-22 school year through a provision of the National School Lunch Program called the Seamless Summer Option (SSO). A waiver has been issued in order to support access to nutritious meals while minimizing potential exposure to COVD-19.

Eden Prairie School District has chosen to use this waiver and operate the SSO which enables us to provide meals free of charge for all students for the 2021-2022 school year. No application is required to receive this free meal benefit. However, your child(ren) may qualify additional benefits such as reduced fees or the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (PEBT) which is a federal temporary emergency nutrition benefit that is loaded onto electronic cards for families to purchase food. For public schools, your application also helps the school qualify for education funds and discounts.

You may submit a printed or online application. A NEW APPLICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED EACH SCHOOL YEAR unless you have received notice that your child(ren) have been approved through direct certification for the current school year. Your application could open the door to more benefits including discounts on internet access, sports fees, AP testing fees and college application fees.

The online application can be accessed through the Parent Portal. Once logged in, click on More, then Meal Benefits in the left sidebar. The online application does not work on a mobile phone, and it is necessary to allow pop-ups in your web browser. Also, you must know your log-in password in order to create an e-Signature PIN. If you need to reset your password, please contact the Parent Helpline at 952-975-7094.

The application is also available to download, print and submit via mail or drop off at any school office.

Applications for the 2021-2022 school year:
- Application for Educational Benefits (free/reduced-price meal benefits application)
- Applications in Spanish and Somali will be posted when they become available.

A letter approving/denying benefits will be mailed to your home address after the application has been processed.

If you have questions, please email FoodService_Office@edenpr.org or 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.

Account Refunds

For seniors, after the last day of school the remaining Food Service account balance of any senior who has sibling(s) actively enrolled in Eden Prairie Schools will be transferred to the next-oldest sibling's account. For the remaining seniors, an email will be sent to the parents listing the options for refunds.

All other Food Service account refunds, please contact FoodService_Office@edenpr.org.

Unpaid Accounts

Students in grades K-8 who have more than two unpaid meals, and students in grades 9-12 who have more than one unpaid meal will be notified by automated phone call, phone call from a staff member, email or a letter home. Eden Prairie Schools will make reasonable efforts to contact families. Non-district employees (i.e. volunteers) will not be involved in efforts to collect unpaid meals. Lack of payment will not demean or stigmatize any student participating in the lunch program.

Families can add funds to their students account through Parent Portal. Families are encouraged to apply for free or reduced-price lunch benefit (see tab in this section above). Applications are confidential and not shared with anyone who does not need to know.

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.