School Food & Nutrition Services

Students are our customers and the food service employees   maintain the goal of providing their customers with safe, good tasting and nutritional daily menus at a reasonable cost.

Breakfast

Beginning  the  first  day  of  school,  breakfast  is  being  offered  to all students at no charge.

Our goal is to encourage students to get a nutritious start to their day.  Those who eat breakfast regularly have been shown to be less likely to develop diabetes or to become obese.  Studies have also shown that in schools where breakfast is served at no charge, students are better prepared for learning.  They are more enthused to start class, show improved behavior, experience reduced visits to the nurse and show a general increase in composite math and reading percentile scores.

This "grab n go" meal consists of an array of yogurts and milks, fruit and juice, cereal and bagels along with hot pockets stuffed with cheese, eggs or meat.

Please encourage your children to participate.

Price

The Federal Government reimbursable breakfast and lunch is offered at all 10 school locations.  Breakfast is offered at no charge and lunch is $2.00 in all cafeterias.

 Credit cards are accepted through an outside contracted company.  Comlex company, serving nearly 1000 schools nationwide, allows parents to enter money into their students accounts via their website.   24 hours must be allowed for money to be credited with a minimum deposit of $25.  The 6% fee charged amounts to 10cents per $2.00 lunch. Access the website at cafeprepay.com and follow the instructions for "new user". If you experience any problems, please call 1-800-643-2762.

Government regulations separate students into three categories for reimbursements based on family income. At Pattonville, we do not charge students in the Free or Reduced category.  Income information is treated confidentially and applications are available through the principals' office.

Nutrition

Our meals are planned to accommodate the average nutritional needs of students based on current USDA regulations and guidelines.  The food group components offered at breakfast are targeted to meet ¼ the Recommended Daily Allowance of nutrients (RDA) while the lunches meet 1/3 the RDA.  Efforts have been successful in reducing salt, sugar and fat in the Pattonville diet through the promotion of balance, moderation and variety.  Our "offer verses serve" system allows students to choose as few as three or as many as five of the offered food group components while still qualifying for the same student discount price and allowing for less waste.

Choices

 A main entree selection along with several sandwich choices are available in the elementary schools each day while the Middle and High Schools offer an even wider array of choices every day.  All extra sales that are not government reimbursable are referred to as ala carte.  These types of items are usually sold separately rather than as a packaged meal.  They may be snack items like ice cream or a pastry or may be a sandwich, piece of fruit or cup of milk sold individually.  Buying the reimbursable meal as a unit is less expensive and often healthier because it contains a variety from all the food groups.