Food servicesFood services

Table of Contents                                                                        

Introduction and Contact Information

Food Director:

Tammy Williams

936-274-5061 x135

tawilliams@esc5.net

Staff members in the Child Nutrition Department value the opportunity to participate in your child's educational and nutritional experiences. Our goal is to provide a balanced and nutritious meal, promoting positive food habits at a minumum cost.  We hope this information will answer questions you may have about our services. If you have other questions or concerns, please contact your cafeteria manager or Food Director, Tammy Williams.

The Child Nutrition Department operates under the agreement with the Texas Department of Agriculture for the school breakfast and lunch programs. Under this agreement, we comply with certain state and federal guidelines and strive to provide quality food and nutrition to our students. This service provides every student an equal opportunity to learn and grow without nutritonal hindrances. Menus are designed under specific USDA guidelines for food content, considering nutrients and increased calorie needs for growing years. We strive to include good food habits, and utilize USDA commodities that are donated to us, within our menus.

Attention Parents

For your convenience, we recommend prepayment of meals by the week, biweekly, or monthly. Many students do not make it to the cafeteria with loose change.  Account balances roll forward from month to month if all of the meal account money is not used.

Please note the meal prices for the various serving lines.

 

Student Lunch Line

Full Pay - $2.00                    Reduced Lunch - $.40

 

Student Snack Bar

Full Pay - $2.25                    Reduced Lunch - $.40

 

Student Breakfast

Full Pay  -$1.00                    Reduced  Meal   -$.40

 

Breakfast is available daily and served between 7:30 -8:00 am, Monday through Friday. Free and reduced priced as well as full price breakfasts are available for all students. 

Printed menus are sent home with all elementary students. Menus are posted in the cafeteria and classrooms. Menus are also available upon request. 

Good school lunches just don’t happen. They are prepared by caring professionals. WHCCISD Child Nutrition Personnel work hard at keeping abreast of new developments in the field of child nutrition by taking continuing education classes and attending workshops during the summer months. Many of the members are certified in the field of Child Nutrition, a mark of their education, training, and willingness to pursue professional growth. 

Free and reduced priced meals are available for all eligible students. If you feel your child may be eligible , please complete one application per household and return it to the school or the superintendent’s office. If you have any questions about income eligibility, please contact Patti Graham at 936-274-5061 x. 102. 

School Child Nutrition is an investment in education because it directly benefits the youth of our nation. To each a hungry child is difficult, if not impossible. Proper child nutrition provides the fuel, which provides the energy and mental alertness to make learning possible.

PayPAMS - View Student Meal Accounts & Pre-Pay Online @ paypams.com

The West Hardin CCISD Child Nutrition Department provides an online site to check your student's account balance and history of transactions - anytime of the day or night. You may also make online payments using your credit/debit card.  Student account balances are updated each school day afternoon. Online payments made before 2:00 p.m. are usually available by the next day. Ask your student for his/her student I.D. number. Go to paypams.com and follow the directions. There is a shortcut link to the website at the top of the West Hardin website under Links. 

Is Breakfast and Lunch Money an Everyday Hassle?

Prepayments are accepted daily before school and during breakfast and lunch. Cash and checks payable to the school cafeteria are accepted and posted to your child’s account. If you send a check, please write your students pin number or student’s name on the bottom of the check. 

Your child’s account is charged only on the day he or she eats and the balance rolls forward. If there is a balance at the end of the year, your child’s account will begin the next school year with any balance remaining from the previous year. All students enter their personal student ID numbers in the keypad at the cash register. 

Offer Versus Serve

What is offer vs. serve? It is saying that students are offered at least five items for lunch and at least four items at breakfast and they may choose to be served only three. Students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade have the opportunity to select three, four, or five components at lunch, allowing for food favorites or dislikes while considering nutritional needs. This helps the student to have a selection without having excess food waste due to preferences and varying hunger levels. Only the students can make these choices. Students are encouraged to take the full menu, but only what they will eat. 

The five school lunch components are; meat, two vegetables or two fruits or one of each, bread, and milk. The four school breakfast components are; milk, fruit or fruit juice, one bread item, one meat item, or two bread items. The meal patterns are established by USDA guidelines. 

Menu Content

To help clarify the food content of menu items here are a few general guidelines. The Child Nutrition Department strives to be clear as to the menu content. However, menu items may not always completely indicate the full recipe content. 

  • Spaghetti sauces are 100 % ground beef. 
  • Corndogs are turkey. 
  • Fish is Alaskan Pollock. 
  • Hamburgers have a reduced fat and sodium content. 
  • Milk choices are white, chocolate, and strawberry. (Skim or 1 percent) 
  • We have reduced the fat in all of the baked goods produced in the kitchen. 
  • Fruit is normally offered as a dessert item daily. 
  • Vegetables are prepared without added fat. 
  • All entrees are baked or broiled. 
  • Recipes have been modified to reduce salt, sugar, and fat to help students meet the dietary guidelines. 

According to USDA regulations, only milk will be offered as a component/ beverage with the lunch program. Tea or bottled water may be purchased as an ala carte item at the middle and high school. Elementary students may purchase bottled water only. Students with any milk allergies will need a current physician’s statement on file with the Cafeteria Manager to receive an alternate beverage as part of their plate lunch. 

Students with any food allergies or special dietary needs will need a physician’s statement and /or diet on file with the Cafeteria Manager to receive an alternate meal as their breakfast and lunch. There must be a current physician’s order on file updated yearly. 

Texas Public School Nutrition Policy 

Texas implemented a statewide nutrition policy during August 2004. Revisions to that policy have been implemented in August 2007. Parents are a major influence on student’s food choices and life style. We encourage your family to make healthy meal choices and to develop an active life style. WHCCISD Child Nutrition Department has implemented the new regulations to meet the State Nutrition Policy. Some of the policies are: 

  • Portions sizes of many items have been mandated. 
  • Fried potato products will be a maximum of 3 ounces per serving. 
  • No snacks or beverages can be provided to the classroom unless they meet Texas Nutrition policy Standards. 
  • Meals, other than those prepared by the cafeteria, may be sent for your child only. 

Please visit www.squaremeals.org for nutrition policy.

Web Links
Fruits & Vegetables

This site has many useful tips for eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.
Square Meals

This site is funded by the Texas Department of Agriculture with the goal of nourishing children's bodies and minds.
Eat Smart, Play Hard

The Eat Smart, Play Hard Campaign was launched by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service to encourage and teach children & parents to eat healthy and be physically active daily.
Eat Smart, Play Hard, Healthy Lifestyle

Resources to help you eat better, be more physically active and be a role model for your kids.

 

 
Syndicate content

WHCCISD Food Charge Policy

Submitted by bgrimes on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 9:38am.

Food Services has a Point of Sale Computer System for collection of all money on accounts, cash sales and tracking of all meals and purchases. The program will act as a debit system for money on accounts and a cash register for cash sales. Each student and district employee will have an automatic account set up for their use and money placed on an account will stay there until debited by the account holder. Money may be accessed to use for any and all purchases from the cafeteria. There will no longer be a need to send separate moneys for a la carte/snack purchases on any campus.

The Point of Sale program will track all transactions on the account and parents may request to see how their student is using money on purchases. All moneys (postive and negative) left on record at the close of the 09-10 school year will be carried over into the new school year and will follow each subsequent school year.

WHCCISD Food Service will follow a charge policy of the following for Elementary, Middle and High School:

  • A maximum of $8.20, to be used for the reimbursable meal and ala-carte for paid status students.
  • A maximum of $2.10, to be used for the reimbursable meal and ala-carte for reduced status students.
  • An alternative meal will be provided for children who have reached their maximum charges.

C.A.T.C.H.

Submitted by bgrimes on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 9:26am.

Coordinated Approach to Child Health program (CATCH)

Good nutrition is based on making good choices. In an effort to assist parents and students in these choices, the West Hardin Child Nutrition Department has adopted the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) Program.  The goal of the program is to help children choose healthy foods through the day.  The CATCH GO-SLOW-WHOA list is a tool to guide children and families toward making healthy choices.  The GO foods are lower in fat and/or sugar and/or they are whole foods (less processed).  SLOW foods are higher in fat and/or sugar and/or more processed than GO foods.  WHOA foods are highest in fat and/or sugar, and/or the most processed, relative to foods in the same category on the GO and SLOW lists.  All foods can be eaten in moderation.  In fact, you may eat a WHOA food every day.  The important message is that a healthy diet contains mostly GO foods, a fewer number of SLOW Foods and even fewer WHOA foods.  It is also important to note that many foods can become WHOA foods if eaten in large Quantities.  Below is the list of GO-SLOW-WHOA foods from the West Hardin Menu.

 

 

 

GO FOODS

Green Beans/Corn/Mix Vegetables/Broccoli / Peas/ Squash/Ketchup

Baby Carrots/Cucumber Slices/Salad Cup/

Peaches/Apples/Oranges/Grapes/Pears/Mix Fruit/Applesauce/Pineapple/Apricots/Raisins

/Sherbet/Strawberries/Mixed Fruit

 

 

SLOW FOODS

Pizza Choice/Pizza Sticks/Spicy Chicken/Chicken Nuggets/Rings/

Meat Loaf/Salisbury Steak/Fish /Spaghetti/Corndog/ Burgers/Meatballs/

Enchiladas/ Baked Chicken/Rib Patty/Oven Fries/Rice & Gravy/Mash Potato

Roll/Breadsticks

 

WHOA FOODS

Chicken Fried Steak/BBQ/Chili Cheese Dog

 

WH School Menu

Submitted by bgrimes on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 9:20am.

Click here to view the school menu for the year.