Meal Program

Saint James School Lunch Program

Food Modifications

Welcome to the St. James Cafeteria! Our food services have undergone a slight change for the upcoming school year and beyond. We will be providing all Nutrition Services in-house. We are positive the changes will provide your student(s) with a better tasting, quality, nutritious lunch provided to you by our dedicated Food Service Personnel. Menus will be available on our website under ‘Parent Resources’ and updated monthly. Our menus will provide you with all current information regarding each month’s lunch choices.

Food allergies and intolerances can be accommodated in our school cafeterias. School nutrition professionals work with parents to create safe meal modifications for our students. To accommodate the request for a modification, we must have a Diet Prescription Form signed by a physician. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Ann O’Neil, St. James Food Services, (607) 797-5444.

For more information on United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) guidelines for accommodating students with food allergies and intolerances please visit 2017 Edition of Accommodating Children with Disabilities in the School Meal Programs.

How to Purchase/Pay

Thanks to New York State’s new Universal Free School Meals Program, all school meals will be free this year.

If your student would have been eligible for Free / Reduced Meal Pricing anyway, we would still ask you to fill out those forms for our reimbursement purposes.

Summer Meals

Summer Meals Information

Menu, Prices & Schedule

The menu for the month is sent home in advance with daily selections.

To learn more about the lunch and food programs that our school reflects in our daily lunch menu, visit the New York State link: http://www.cn.nysed.gov/ and this U.S. Government link: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn

Bringing Lunch To School

If your student brings lunch to school, please note the following:

There is no microwave available.
Review the healthy child initiatives and the MyPlate Kids’ Place for ideas and guidelines on what would be ideal to pack for your student: https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/nutrition-life-stage/children/food-and-nutrition
New York State does not allow any prepared foods that are purchased OUTSIDE the school to be brought into the Cafeteria, and this includes when an adult joins their student for lunch.

Lunch Schedule

The following is the school’s lunch schedule:

Pre-K, T-K	11:10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Grade 4 - Grade 6	11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Kindergarten-Grade 1	11:50 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.
Grade 2- Grade 3	12:10 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Parents are welcome to join their student for lunch. Please call the school office or send in your order in the morning for food service planning purposes.

More about the lunch program policy at saint james school

We should all be aware of the importance of eating healthy meals. Studies have proven that students who eat healthy perform better in the classroom. Our goal is to provide healthy, well balanced meals that allow children to make healthy choices. We follow all regulations and guidelines set forth by New York State Child Nutrition.

School lunches will be served each day that school is in session. Milk may be deducted from their lunch account. We offer a variety of alternate entrees each day. The students can order any of the alternate entrees in the morning during homeroom.

More About Wellness At Saint James School

Saint James School is a Catholic school committed to fostering academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment. St. James School carries out the mission of Jesus Christ proclaiming the Gospel and forming students in a faith that is “living, conscious and active” in accordance with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Section 204 of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires each local educational agency (LEA) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to develop local wellness policies. St. James School has developed a policy with objectives to promote student health and reduce childhood obesity. These standards apply to all students in Preschool through 6th grade.

Nutrition Education

St. James School believes that healthier students are better learners. The physical education teacher will utilize the local Cornell Cooperative Extension and USDA My Plate program lesson plans and personal to present lessons on health and wellness. Students will be taught to eat more fruits and vegetables, eat less sugar sweetened foods and beverages, and exercise more in order to combat childhood obesity and foster lifelong healthy habits.

Nutrition Promotion

Posters and visual aids will be displayed in the school. These posters will highlight various food groups as well as healthy choice options for lifelong healthy habits. A poster with the daily lunch offerings will be posted before the serving line with pictures for the younger children telling them to select at least one fruit or vegetable and to pick 3 components for a healthy meal.

Faculty and staff have an open dialogue with parents about the healthy food choices their children have at school. We also aim to spotlight the healthy options they have at home or have access too.

Physical Activities

All students will receive physical education that meets the NYS Department of Education mandates and aligns to the NYS Standards. All physical education will be taught by a certified education teacher. Preschool through 6th grade will have supervised daily recess available, outdoors when the temperature is above 22 degrees or in the gym during inclement weather. During this time children will be encouraged to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity.

All Foods and Beverages

All lunches served will comply with USDA Child Nutrition Guidelines. Lunches will contain between 600-650 calories, will have less than 10% saturated fat, 0 trans fats, and less than 710 mg sodium.
Whole grain and 51% whole grain products will be offered. A variety of fruits and vegetables will be offered daily including leafy green, red and orange vegetables and beans and legumes. No foods will be on site that are deep fried.
Milk and Lactaid will be offered as part of the school lunch and available for 50 cents to children who bring their lunch. White milk will be 1% fat free, chocolate milk will be fat free and strawberry milk will be fat free.
A snack table is available to all students for purchase. All snacks and beverages will comply with Smart Snack standards. Snacks will be packaged in single serving sizes. All snacks will be less than 200 calories, have less than 10% saturated fat, less than 200 mg sodium and less than 35% sugar by weight. https://foodplanner.healthiergeneration.org/calculator/
All students will have access to safe drinking water throughout the day at no cost to students. Teacher encourage students to have water bottles and fill them as needed.
New York State and American made or grown fruits and vegetables will be offered and promoted throughout the year.

Other School Based Activities

St. James School will participate in Race for Education and the Jump for Heart to raise awareness of healthy living. School parties and celebrations will encourage healthy snacks. Fitness opportunities in the community that occur outside of the school day are promoted within the school. For example, the St. James Parish 5k Run/2.5 K Family walk is held each fall and St. James school co-sponsors this event.

Food and Beverage Marketing

No vending machines will be available to students. Foods that do not meet the USDA Child Nutrition Standards may not be sold in schools from midnight before until a half hour after school ends.

Students will be able to taste new menu options prior to being added to the menu for purchase. This is meant to ensure students will enjoy and participate in the lunch program and reduce waste.

Non-Discrimination 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.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: https://www.usda.gov/oascr/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

(1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or
(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov

More information regarding non-discrimination, meal charging and prohibition against meal shaming can be found here.