Glens Falls City School District is committed to providing students with the tools they need to succeed, including nutritious meals they can enjoy. Our Food Service Program is pleased to announce that Big Cross Elementary will participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) grant program during the 2019-2020 school year.
Beginning the first day of school (September 4), every student enrolled at Big Cross will receive free breakfast and lunch each school day regardless of the family’s household income. Although milk is free with a full meal, a la carte milk (a milk that a student wishes to take without getting a school meal) will cost 65 cents.
Big Cross is the ONLY school participating in the CEP program this year. If your family has children attending the Middle or High School, you will still need to complete the Free & Reduced Meal application to cover your older child(ren)’s meals. Otherwise, no application is required for Big Cross students.
Each Big Cross student will continue to have an individual school meal account on MySchoolBucks and will enter their Personal Identification Number (PIN) in the lunch line to receive their FREE meals. Parents and guardians can continue to prepay student meal accounts for extra items such as fruits, milk by itself, yogurt, beverages, extra entrees, etc.
So check out the breakfast and lunch menus at www.gfsd.org and get your child ready to enjoy healthy meals that lead to better focus in the classroom, more positive behaviors, and greater academic achievement in 2019-20!
Questions and Answers about the CEP grant program:
Q: What is the CEP grant program?
A: The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is an alternative way to serve universal free breakfast and lunch to all students in a school. It is part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.
Q: Why is Big Cross the only school participating in the CEP program?
A: Big Cross is eligible because it has an Identified Student Percentage of 40 percent or higher, according to building level data. An Identified Student refers to any student that is certified for free meals by any means other than the submission of individual paper applications, such as SNAP and Medicaid.
Q: What are the advantages of Big Cross’ participation?
A: In addition to all students receiving free breakfast and lunch at Big Cross, participation will remove the stigma that can be associated with being eligible for free and reduced meals as well as improve nutrition to students at risk. In addition, many working families on the cusp of receiving free and reduced meals will no longer have to worry about paying for their child(ren)’s school meals.
Q: Our family never qualified for free and reduced lunches before. Are you sure my Big Cross child can eat for FREE?
A: Yes! All students enrolled at Big Cross Street School get FREE breakfast and lunch every day for the 2019-20 school year.
Q: My child likes to get extra food, or sometimes a second meal. How does that work?
A: The complete reimbursable breakfast and lunch meal is free. A second meal will be charged to your child’s account at the regular meal rate: $1.75 for breakfast, and $2.50 for lunch. Extra food items will be charged according to a la carte pricing. You can find a price list for a la carte milk, yogurt, and other side dishes on the food service page at www.gfsd.org.
Q: My child had money on her/his MySchoolBucks account from last year. What happens to those funds?
A: Any money carried over from last year is available to your child and can be used for extras, such as double meals, fruit, a side salad, or extra milk. You can still check MySchoolBucks to add money or check balances.
Q: What impact does this program have on school taxes?
A: There is no impact on school taxes. The District’s Food Service budget is self-sustaining and separate from the annual school budget voted on by taxpayers each year.
Q: What if I have questions about the forms I need to fill out for my students?
A: Please contact the Food Service office at 518-798-1910. Director Alicia Taylor or another staff member will be able to assist you with any questions or paperwork.