Huntington School Board members voted unanimously to freeze breakfast and lunch prices for the 2019/20 school year. Trustees set the price of breakfast at $1.90, elementary lunch at $2.65 and secondary lunch at $3.00. The price for milk will be 50 cents. The prices are identical to those charged last year.
Trustees also passed a resolution authorizing the district’s continued participation in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. Trustees have also extended the district’s food service management contract with Whitsons School Nutrition Corp. for the 2019/20 school year. Whitsons will assist in ensuring “all state and federal regulations pertaining to the School Meal Program will be adhered to by the Huntington Union Free School District.”
Huntington’s food service program is self-sustaining in nature. The district aims to serve healthy, nutritious and good tasting food items. The district participates in the My School Bucks program to provide families with a way to prepay and monitor their student’s lunch accounts via the smart phone application. The app directly connects to the district’s Nutrikids Point of Sale system that uses the student’s school ID number to access their lunch accounts. Participation in this service reduces or even eliminates the need for students to carry cash.
“Huntington UFSD and Whitsons have been working closely together to improve the cafeteria experience for students on every grade level in all buildings,” said Assistant Superintendent Kathleen Acker, whose responsibilities encompass the food service program. “The district plans to continue striving to serve healthy, tasty, fresh and overall nutritious breakfast and lunch meals throughout the new school year.
Providing students with the best food service program possible is a priority of the Huntington School Board and district officials. “There is limited use of processed foods,” Ms. Acker said. “All items are antibiotic/hormone free, low-fat and low calorie where possible. Canned fruit is packed in water not syrup. Fresh and frozen vegetables are used in lieu of canned vegetables. There has been an increase in the portions of the food items in sandwiches.”
The Nutrikids online system for parents has the ability to track food allergies. If a parent provides the information, a student’s swipe card can be used to notify cashiers of food allergies. A doctor’s note would be needed and the information would be added to Nutrikids. Additionally, cards are placed near the food items themselves indicating what allergies or medical conditions could be adversely effected by consuming the item. Additional food allergy information will be outlined on the monthly breakfast and lunch menus.
An interactive PDF cafeteria menu is available on the district website. All food items on the menu are linked to a nutrition calculator.
Some of the basic tenets of Huntington UFSD’s food service program include:
- Serving milk that is rBGH free, fat-free or one-percent and does not contain high fructose corn syrup.
- Zero trans-fats used, unless they are naturally occurring.
- Sourcing chickens that are raised without the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics.
- Serving chicken and pork products that are hormone free.
- Serving fresh fruits and vegetables daily.
- Sourcing dolphin safe tuna.
- Sourcing cage-free shelled eggs or pasture-raised when possible.
- Offering meals that are free from MSG, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors and flavors and/or preservatives and high fructose corn syrup.
- Serving yogurt that is 100 percent all natural or organic.
- Serving hummus that is organic and tahini (sesame seed) free.
- Purchasing local products to support family farms and local economies and offering the freshest foods possible.
Contact Assistant Superintendent Kathleen Acker at kacker@hufsd.edu or call the district’s School Lunch Manager, Gabriela Coreas at 631-673-2107 for more information about the district’s food service program.