Child Nutrition Services

Menus, Meal Service, Nutrition, & Allergen Information

June Menu 2021

Menú de Junio 2021

Take-Home 5-Day Cloud Campus Menu

To-Go Bag Nutritional Info Breakfast

To-Go Bag Nutritional Info Lunch

Summer 2021 Meals

Summer meal service will be offered to students in attendance at our 3 summer school sites (Ocean Knoll, Park Dale Lane, Flora Vista ) from June 28th through July 23rd, 2021. Meals are free for all students in attendance.

EUSD will not be hosting a community meal distribution this summer. To find the nearest community meal location near you, please visit: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/ap/summersites.asp?year=2021&countyname=San_Diego

Free Meals  Available to EUSD Students for the 2021-22 SY!

Free meals will be available to all enrolled EUSD students for the 2021-22 school year! This includes free daily Lunch at all 9 school sites and free breakfast every morning at Paul Ecke Central and Ocean Knoll Elementary. 

What Makes EUSD's Lunch Program Different ?

Encinitas USD Child Nutrition Services is committed to serving the healthiest meals around! We focus on scratch-made entrees that feature locally sourced produce and proteins, often grown on our own certified organic Farm Lab. We serve responsibly-sourced, sustainably raised meats whenever possible. Our pizza is made fresh in house, with a whole grain pizza dough made fresh daily and pizza sauce made with Farm Lab organic tomatoes, bell peppers and herbs. EUSD participates in the National School Lunch Program. With the adoption of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, EUSD has continued to improve the nutrient content of the meals it serves.

We are proud to be able to provide students, parents, and community partners with the information that will allow our students to make educated choices regarding their school meals. All menu, nutrition information and allergens can be found on www.schoolcafe.com. The information provided on School Café is based on current information from manufacturers and Encinitas USD recipes.

Please be aware that there are factors that may affect a product’s actual nutritional value and/or ingredient composition at any given time – our central kitchen may make a dietitian-approved menu substitution; manufacturers’ formulations may change without notice; USDA products may become available at any time during the year and may replace a purchased item; product brands may change during the year; shortages or failed deliveries may result in menu substitutions; and recipes may change during the school year.

Healthy Snacks

Snacks are sold at all nine school sites during lunch time. EUSD has chosen a handful of healthy snacks for students to choose from, including fruit, string cheese, whole grain popcorn, and pretzels. Snacks can be purchased with cash or charged to a student account that has a positive balance. 

All snacks are compliant with California regulations and the Smart Snacks federal regulations. These rigorous standards for food and beverages sold “A la Carte” (outside the reimbursable meal program) apply to students from kindergarten though grade six. All beverages sold have no added sugar, and bottled water is for sale at all school sites.

Special Diets & Food Allergies

If your child requires a special diet provided daily by the school cafeteria, a Request for a Special Meal form must be filled out in English by a U.S. licensed physician indicating the medical necessity and must be sent to Encinitas USD Child Nutrition Department. All special diet requests must be filled out and signed by a U.S. licensed physician, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner. Special meal accommodations must be turned in every school year, they do not roll over from the previous school year.

Please send all forms directly to Lea Bonelli, MS RD, Child Nutrition Director via email lea.bonelli@eusd.net, mail or drop off with your school nurse.

Form to request special meals: English/Spanish

EUSD Child Nutrition tries to provide a variety of meals that meet the needs of each student in the district. Gluten free meals are offered throughout the week and can be found on the menu with the symbol. This includes entrees like Bean & Cheese Pupusas, Tamales, Most Gluten free entrées are gluten free without the bread/bun/tortilla/etc. Corn tortillas available upon request. Items may be processed in a facility that also processes nuts and other allergens. We serve gluten free items but our kitchens are not gluten free facilities.

Child Nutrition Services & Green Garden Cafe

Inspired by the thriving gardens found at our nine EUSD schools and our very own certified organic Farm Lab, Green Garden Cafe was created to serve students fresh food that they need to grow and succeed. From organic Farm Lab produce on the salad bar to sustainably sourced proteins, Green Garden Cafe is providing students with nourishing foods that you can feel good about.

Child Nutrition is committed to providing healthy foods with the highest quality ingredients possible to students in the district. We strictly source the food that we serve to our students, never using ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and additives, hormones and antibiotics in animal production and artificial sweeteners. Our goal is to serve the highest quality, best tasting, healthiest meals possible!

Our student lunch menus change monthly, featuring a variety of seasonal and local scratch-made entrees. Check out our lunch menus to see the selections offered to students each day. An unlimited salad bar is available with every school meal. The daily salad bar includes organic lettuce sourced from local and regional farms, Harvest of the Month produce on Wednesdays and a variety of salad dressings (including gluten free options). Some of our more popular, freshly-made entrees include:

• Pasta Bolognese: made with organic grass fed beef from Marin Sun Farms in Northern California and pasta sauce made with organic tomatoes and herbs from the EUSD Farm Lab.
• Scratch-made Pizzas of all kinds: dough made fresh daily in our kitchen using whole wheat flour and marinara sauce made with organic tomatoes and herbs from the EUSD Farm Lab.
• Chicken Fajita Tacos: organic free-range chicken from Marin Sun Farms in Northern California seasoned with our special house blend of spices, served on a corn or flour tortilla and topped with roasted bell peppers.
• EUSD “California” Burrito: our spin on a California burrito, made with grass fed organic beef and Farm lab organic roasted sweet potatoes.
• Scratch-made burritos, pastas and sandwiches are a huge hit with students as well!
• A variety of vegetarian and gluten free options are offered throughout the week. You can find these items by special symbol designation on each menu

Meal Applications: Free & Reduced Priced Meals

Encinitas USD participates in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs (Breakfast offered at Paul Ecke Central and Ocean Knoll Elementary). As these are federally subsidized programs, your child may be eligible to receive free or reduced-priced meals. If you feel that your household may qualify for free or reduced priced meals, you can complete the Application for Free and Reduced Priced Meals online or in paper form.

Visit www.schoolcafe.com to complete your application online; this is the quickest and easiest method of applying.

You can also find a paper copy of the meal application at each school front office or in the link found below where you can print the application. Please fill out and return to your child’s school office, district office or the Child Nutrition Services Department (7885 Paseo Aliso, Carlsbad, CA 92009).

Please fill out only ONE application per household. There is no charge for free meals for breakfast and lunch. Paid and reduced priced meal costs are list below under “Meal Prices.” You will find the Free & Reduced Meal Applications, Frequently Asked Questions Flyer and How to Apply in the links below.

• Meal Application/ Aplicación de comida
• Meal Application FAQs/Aplicación de comidas preguntas frecuentes
• Lunch Program FAQ Flyer/Programa de almuerzo preguntas frecuentes folleto
• How to Apply/ Cómo aplicar
   

Meal Prices

	Paid	Reduced	Free	Staff
Breakfast	$2.00	$0.30	$0.00	$3.00
Lunch	$4.00	$0.40	$0.00	$5.00

 

Payment Options

All students are assigned a 4-digit confidential PIN number to use in the lunch line. Prepaid meal accounts help the lunch lines go faster and gives students more time to eat, relax, and play. It also gives you the peace of mind of not having to worry about looking for lunch money every day or worry that it might get lost, stolen or used for other things other than lunch.

• Cash: If you send cash with your child, please place it in a sealed envelope and write your child’s complete name, grade and classroom number on the envelope. Place cash into payment box in your child’s school office or give it directly to the office manager. Cash is deposited into your child’s account the same day it is received.
  • You may also send cash with your child to give to the Child Nutrition staff in the lunch line but dropping off cash in the front office is the preferred method.

• Personal Check: If you would like to pay by check, please place it in a sealed envelope and write your child’s complete name, grade and classroom number on the envelope. Place checks into payment box in your child’s school office or give it directly to the office manager. Checks will be deposited into your child’s account the same day it is received.
  • You may also send a check with your child to give to the Child Nutrition staff in the lunch line, but dropping off a check in the front office is the preferred method.
  • Make checks payable to: EUSD Child Nutrition
  • Write the child’s full name in the left corner memo portion of the check

• Online: Encinitas USD utilizes an online payment system called School Café, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. School Café allows you to make payments to your child’s cafeteria account via credit card, monitor your child’s meal purchases, view weekly menus, allergen information and review nutrition information. This service has additional features that allow you to receive e-mail reminders when your child’s account is getting low or to set up automated payments. You can register to utilize these other features on Schoolcafe without making online payments.
  • For every $80.00 online meal payment, your student will receive one bonus meal ($4.00 value), which offsets the School Café service fee. Pre-paying for your child’s meals online helps expedite the lunch line. We thank you in advance for utilizing this system!
  • To register for Schoolcafe:

1. Go to school café and under the “Need to create an account or contact us?” section, click the state (CA) and the school district (Encinitas Union School District)
2. Click the “Create a new account” link
3. Click “I’m a Parent” and enter your contact information
4. Add your student once the account is created; you need your child’s student ID number

Refund & Transfer Policy

Should you need a refund on your child’s lunch account, please contact the Child Nutrition Services Department at 760-944-4300 x 2571 or email Kammy Benson at Kameron.benson@eusd.net. Please allow at least 2 weeks for refunds to be processed.

If you would like to donate the money in your child’s lunch account to another student, please specify when contacting the Child Nutrition Department.

Unpaid Meal Charge Policy

Student meal prices are $2.00 for Breakfast and $4.00 for Lunch. Students are expected to have money in their account or pay cash for meals. Students will never be denied a meal, but the steps outlined below will be taken to collect unpaid meal charge debt.

• -Negative balance phone calls will be sent out twice weekly
• -Emails and letters home on a weekly and monthly basis

If you do not want your student to be using their lunch account, please contact the Child Nutrition Services Department so we can put necessary blocks onto the account.

If a student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals but incurred any unpaid meal debt prior to receiving notification of eligibility, the family is still required to pay.

How to Apply
Lunch Program FAQ Flyer
Meal Application
Meal Application FAQs
Schoolcafe Flyer
Field Trip Parent Consent Form

En Espanol
Cómo aplicar
Programa de almuerzo preguntas frecuentes folleto
Aplicación de comida
Aplicación de comidas preguntas frecuentes
Schoolcafe folleto
Viaje de campo consentimiento de los padres

 

Field Trip Meals

Did you know that EUSD Child Nutrition can provide delicious, nutritious “on-the-go” lunches for class field trips? Parents, this gives you a break from having to pack a lunch for field trip days, all you have to do is order a field trip lunch from the school cafeteria!

To pre-order a field trip lunch for your child’s next class field trip, you simply need to fill out the Parent Consent Form for Field Trip/Field Trip Lunch Request Form. This form can be given to the teacher or office staff. Please fill out and return this form no later than 4 days prior to the field trip date.

If your child(ren) is eligible for free or reduced price lunches, they will receive the sack lunch under the same eligibility that they receive their regular lunches. (For example: a student eligible for reduced price lunches will receive his/her lunch for $0.40 and those eligible for free lunch will receive a free lunch.) If your child is a paid student, you will need to include payment with this form when you submit it to the school.

Each sack lunch includes the following: Sunbutter & Jelly Sandwich, Whole Grain tortilla chips, carrots, fresh fruit and milk.

Link to Field Trip Parent Consent Form:English/Viaje de campo consentimiento de los padres

Teacher Procedures:

Lunches are available for all students; payment is required based on the student’s meal eligibility. The school’s Cafeteria staff will charge the student’s account appropriately.

PRIOR TO THE FIELD TRIP
4 Days prior to your field trip:

• Complete and submit the Field Trip Lunch Notification Roster that lists all students that will be needing a lunch for the field trip. Give form to CNS kitchen staff.
• Attach all student Field Trip Lunch Request Forms that have been filled out by student’s parents. We need these forms to confirm orders.
  Notify your Cafeteria Site Leader immediately if event is cancelled

The Day of the Field Trip:

• Pick up your meals in the kitchen or staff lounge refrigerator (wherever lunches are stored at your site)
• *Note: a cooler will be provided to keep the lunches cold but the lunches are safe to be held at room temperature (in backpacks or out of the cooler).
• Bring the Field Trip Notification Roster copy provided by the CNS staff with the lunches on the field trip.

DURING THE FIELD TRIP
During Lunch:

• Use the Class Roster as the Check-Off List of student’s names that received a meal.
• If a student decides not to eat the meal that was ordered, please place leftover lunches back in the cooler to bring back to the cafeteria.

After Lunch when you return to school:

• Place any remaining shelf stable lunches back into the kitchen or staff lounge where you picked them up

AFTER THE FIELD TRIP

• Submit the Field Trip Notification Roster to your CNS staff (or the Nutrition mailbox in the office).

 

Student Wellness

Healthy Classroom Celebrations Handout
Healthy Classroom Celebrations Letter to Parents

Wellness Policy: Student Board Policy
Wellness Policy: Administrative Regulations

Food Celebrations Order Form

Encinitas Union School District’s goals for Health and Wellness center on improving student’s physical, mental, and overall health and wellness while providing students with techniques, habits, and training for lifelong health and wellness. The district acknowledges the strong relationship between students’ health and learning, and is committed to providing an environment where students and staff are supported in making healthy choices for lifelong health.

Healthy Classroom Celebrations

Birthdays and classroom celebrations are great opportunities to promote a healthy lifestyle, provide consistent messages, and create excitement around nutritious choices at school. In line with the EUSD Wellness Policy and the district’s focus on health and wellness, classroom celebrations will be held once per month, at the end of each month, to celebrate birthdays and any other classroom events. For these celebrations, the district encourages non-food birthday celebrations or healthy snacks for parents to bring in for students. All student birthdays can be celebrated on one day with one big celebration!

Healthy Birthday Celebration Ideas
• Parents can wrap their child’s favorite book in birthday wrapping paper. The child can unwrap the book and the teacher can read it to the class.
• Create a “Celebrate Me” book. Have classmates write stories or poems and draw pictures to describe what’s special about the birthday child.
The Birthday Child can
• Bring their favorite toy to share with the class or one for each student in the class
• Parents can bring non-food treats for the whole class: pencils, stickers, key chains, etc.
• Lead their favorite physical activity outdoors
• Be the teacher’s assistant for the day
• Wear a special crown, sash, button or badge all day
• Choose the class music for writing or independent student time

Healthy Classroom Event Ideas
• Watch an educational video as a class and serve popcorn (air popped)
• Put on some music and have a dance contest or dance party
• Have a gardening party, visit the school garden, plant seeds, etc.
• Make it a learning experience and celebrate the students’ cultural heritage with traditional crafts, games and stories
• Incorporate special guests into the celebrations. For example, invite a parent or special guest to come read a book or talk to the class
• Celebrate with a fun outdoor activity like a kickball game
• Set up activity stations in the classroom and let students choose (twister, bean bag toss, etc.)

Healthy Classroom Snack Ideas
• “Ants on a Log” celery with peanut/almond/sun butter and raisins
• Cut veggies with low fat dip
• Whole wheat pita bread or crackers with hummus or bean dip
• Fruit Kebabs
• Fruit smoothies
• Dried fruit or 100% fruit leathers
• 100% fruit popsicles
• Frozen banana pops- sliced in half, dipped in yogurt and rolled in a whole grain cereal
• String cheese and whole grain crackers
• Build your own mini pizzas with whole grain English muffins and healthy toppings

Healthy Beverage Ideas
Water
Nonfat or Lowfat Milk
100% Fruit Juice
“Spa Water”- water flavored with fruit

Be Mindful of Food Allergies
Each classroom has a list of the allergies that are present in the class. Work together with the teacher and other classroom parents to bring in options that will include all students, even those with allergies.

Tips for Parents & Teachers:
• Work together to plan your monthly celebrations- class parents, work with your teacher and other parents to plan activities and/or healthy snacks
• Come up with a list of fun celebration ideas
• Keep food allergies in mind and work with other parents to come up with food ideas that will include all students

Interested in CNS Catering your next classroom or school event? Please contact Lea Bonelli, Director of Child Nutrition Services for more information or check out our Food Celebrations Order form for more details on items available for purchase:

Food Celebrations Order Form