The Breakfast and Lunch
Program
South Colonie Schools offer breakfast and lunch to all students. If there is a two-hour delay, no breakfast will be served in any buildings except for the high school. For more information, please contact the Food Service Department Director Renee Hanks at 869-3576, ext.2452.
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Free and Reduced Meals Available For Qualifying Families
South Colonie participates in the National School Lunch Program providing nutritious meals for students free or at a reduced price of 25 cents. Free or reduced priced meals are provided daily based on household size and income. All information is kept strictly confidential. To see whether your family qualifies for this program all you need to do is complete an application available at your child’s school or contact the South Colonie Food Service Department at 869-3576. Only one application needs to be submitted per household. You will be notified within in 4-5 business days if you qualify for the program. An application package is included as an insert in the South Colonie calendar mailed to parents' homes in August. Parents are encouraged to submit the completed application to their child's school or district office BEFORE the start of school each year. For a copy of the application, please click here (pdf).
Pay for
Your Child's School Meals Online!
You can now pay for your child's meals from the comfort of your home using MyNutriKids.com - a secure online service that lets you pre-pay for meals online using a credit card, debit card or Paypal account. MyNutriKids allows you the convenience of adding funds to your child's meal account, scheduling automatic payments, opting to receive an electronic “low funds” reminder message and viewing a monthly report of your child's daily spending and purchases. For complete instructions on how to sign up for and use South Colonie's online meal payment system, click here. (pdf). The online payment service is not available to students attending the Central Avenue Learning Center (CALC Program).
Helpful Child Nutrition Stories For
Parents
The Many Lessons of Mealtimes (pdf)
IS EATING A GOOD BREAKFAST IMPORTANT?
A hungry child cannot learn. Our breakfast program offers all children a critical jump start at the beginning of their school day. Children who aren’t hungry feel better, learn better, and behave better. Studies have found that students who eat breakfast have a general increase in math grades and reading scores, increased student attention, reduced nurse visits, and improved student behaviors.
HOW HEALTHY ARE SCHOOL MEALS?
School lunches provide one-third of the recommended dietary intake for calories, protein and vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. On average a meal contains less than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. In recent years, South Colonie has increased the use of whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables.
South Colonie Offers Choose Sensibly Program
Choose Sensibly is a campaign initiated by the New York State School Food Service Association to provide support to member schools as they seek to change customer buying patterns. By adopting standards for snacks which support the Dietary Guidelines, and identifying those choices for their customers, school food service departments hope to educate students to make wise choices for snacks.
What are the standards for Choose Sensibly? To be considered a sensible choice, a snack should contain:
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7 grams or less of fat
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2 grams or less of saturated fat
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15 grams or less of sugar
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360 milligrams or less of sodium
HOW DO YOU MAKE NUTRITIOUS SCHOOL MEALS APPEALING TO KIDS?
The Food Services Program keeps a close eye on meal counts and student feedback to determine what the students want to eat. Students have a good variety to choose from.
SHOULD I WORRY ABOUT MY CHILD’S EATING HABITS?
There is no better time than the early years to make an impact on the lifelong eating and exercise habits that can contribute to health maintenance and disease prevention. Medical authorities and nutrition researchers have documented that meeting nutritional requirements throughout childhood is essential to full intellectual development. There is compelling evidence that nutrition impacts a child's behavior, school performance, and overall cognitive development.
School Nutrition Professionals, District Welcome Release of Final School Meal Nutrition Standards
Posted on january 25, 2012
The School Nutrition Association (SNA), representing 55,000 school nutrition professionals nationwide, joins South Colonie Schools in welcoming the release of the US Department of Agriculture’s final regulations (pdf) updating the meal pattern for school breakfast and lunch. full story
Food Service Personnel Survey Options For Serving Healthier School Lunches
Posted on january 13, 2012
As part of the federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, school lunches must meet new strict federal guidelines in September. On January 12, hundreds of local school food directors attended a food fair at the Polish Community Center of Albany where vendors offered a taste of their products. Most companies offered low-sodium, whole-wheat and low-fat options. South Colonie Food Services Director Renee Hanks attended the food fair and discussed the district's options with Times Union reporter Cathleen Crowley. full story
Congress Pushes Back On Federal Attempts To Make School Lunches Healthier
Posted on november 16, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) — Who needs leafy greens and carrots when pizza and French fries will do? In an effort many 9-year-olds will cheer, Congress wants pizza and French fries to stay on school lunch lines and is fighting the Obama administration’s efforts to take unhealthy foods out of schools. full story
Study Shows School Lunch Program Improves Children's Health
Posted on november 15, 2011
A recent study by current and former Iowa State researchers confirmed that the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) improves the health outcomes of children who reside in low-income households. The study of nearly 2,700 NSLP children (ages 6-17) found that the NSLP reduces the prevalence of food insecurity by 3.8 percent, poor general health by 29 percent, and the rate of obesity by at least 17 percent in its participants. full story
MyNutriKids Payment System Up and Running For New School Year
Posted on august 23, 2011
The MyNutriKids.com prepayment meal system is now up and running for the 2011-12 school year. Pay for your child's meals from the comfort of your home using MyNutriKids.com - a secure online service that lets you pre-pay for meals online using a credit card, debit card or Paypal account. MyNutriKids allows you the convenience of adding funds to your child's meal account, scheduling automatic payments, opting to receive an electronic “low funds” reminder message and viewing a monthly report of your child's daily spending and purchases.
School Lunch/Breakfast/Milk Prices Increase for 2011-12 School Year
Posted on august 2, 2011
The price of a school lunch will increase 10 cents in September, and the price of a breakfast is up 15 cents due to the rising cost of producing them. The Board of Education approved the rate increase this summer to $1.90 for an elementary school lunch and $2.15 for a middle and high school lunch. The price of breakfast is now $1.15 at the elementary schools and $1.40 at the middle and high schools. Milk also went up a nickel to 55 cents. The rate increase is due to increased costs in food (fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and reduced fat products), gasoline, health care, and the need to repair/upgrade school kitchen equipment. South Colonie continues to offer one of the lowest priced school lunches in the Capital District.
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Posted on december 3, 2010
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in December, which will allow school meal programs to offer a greater variety of nutritious foods in school cafeterias nationwide. The legislation, endorsed by the School Nutrition Association (SNA), passed by a vote of 264 to 157. full story
Sand Creek Middle School Debuts Two New Cafeteria Ovens
Posted on october 28, 2010
The Sand Creek Middle School cafeteria debuted two new cooking oven this school year. full story
Colonie High School West Wing Cafeteria Staff All Smiles After Winning New Cooler in 'Just Say Cheese' Dairy Contest
Posted on
october 28, 2010
The Colonie Central High School West Wing Cafeteria is home to a brand new dairy cooler this year thanks to the efforts of the dedicated Food Services staff. Back in February, the West Wing staff entered the “Just Say Cheese” contest sponsored by the American Dairy Association & Dairy Council, Inc. (ADADC) and captured this prize for their creativity in the kitchen. full story
National Honors For Colonie Central High School Taco Pockets Recipe
Colonie Central High School has built a reputation for producing award-winning graduates. After all, you are what you eat. Just ask the high school cafeteria staff. Their latest “south of the border” kitchen creation finished in the Top 10 among recipes entered in a national taste test sponsored by South Colonie meat vendor JTM Food Group of Ohio. full story
OGS Awards $5,000 To District For 'Innovative' School Meal Program
The South Colonie Central School District has been honored with a $5,000 Best Practices Award in recognition of its innovative and creative use of government commodity foods as part of the school meal program. The award, sponsored by the state Office of General Services and the USDA, was presented to District Food Service Director Renee´ Hanks. full story
