Free Meals
August 15, 2021
Dear Parents or Guardians of C-NP School Students:
We are pleased to announce the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended their program of providing free meals to all Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public School students, regardless of household income. This program has been extended until June 30, 2022.
OVERVIEW: What this decision means is every student in the Choctaw-Nicoma Park School District, including those students in the EDGE Virtual Academy, will continue to be provided the opportunity to receive a free breakfast and lunch on the days school is in session. This includes days deemed to be distance learning (virtual) days when school is not held at the school sites. In addition, this free meal benefit applies to all siblings of students in the district, providing they are eighteen years old or younger. Below are more specific meal procedures based on whether your student is enrolled in traditional school or virtual school.
TRADITIONAL SCHOOL MEAL PROCEDURES: Free meals will be provided by the district in the main hot lunch line at each school site for those days school is in session and your student is physically at the school site. “Grab-and-go” meals, similar to what was provided when schools were on alternative schedules last year, will be available for pickup on the days your student is not scheduled to be physically at the school site. In other words, if your student is physically at school, they will be provided a free breakfast and/or lunch in the school cafeteria. If the student is not physically at school, such as being on one of their distance learning (virtual) days, their free meals may be picked up at their school site. Ala Carte items are not part of the free meal program.
EDGE VIRTUAL ACADEMY STUDENTS: Virtual Academy students will continue to pick up their meals at Choctaw High School, Choctaw Middle School or Nicoma Park Middle school each day, as requested.
MEAL PICKUP PROCEDURES: Meal pickup time will from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. each day at the school sites. Parents must e-mail or notify the district’s Child Nutrition Office by 8:00 a.m. of the day of pickup (or before) at childnutrition@cnpschools.org in order to pick up “grab and go” meals. This notification can be done on a daily or weekly basis. This allows the district to get counts on how many “grab and go” meals to prepare each day. Parents must pick up these “grab and go” meals at their student’s assigned school site or at one specific location for those families with more than one student. Contact the Child Nutrition Office if you need further information at 405-390-5514. Other contact information for the district’s Child Nutrition staff may be found on the Child Nutrition Page.
FREE AND REDUCED MEAL APPLICATIONS: If you have not done so already, it is highly recommended that parents or guardians complete and submit a free or reduced meal application as soon as possible. This will ensure that qualified households will continue to receive free or reduced meals after the expiration date of this program. These forms may be found on the Child Nutrition Page.
This letter represents a brief overview of the new changes in federal school foodservice guidelines and requirements. The USDA’s press release on the matter may be found here https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/usda-007521. We encourage you to contact our Child Nutrition Office if you have any further questions or concerns.
Regards,
Kevin Berry
Chief Financial Officer
Choctaw – Nicoma Park Public Schools