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News Update

All students will be eligible for a free breakfast and free lunch each day in 2024-2025, regardless of their family's financial status. All students who qualify for reduced price lunch, will actually be eligible for a free lunch. Second breakfasts/lunches, incomplete meals, and a la carte items (ex. milk, juice cups, bottled water) will still need to be paid for at the advertised prices.

WSSD menus on Nutrislice

Partial A La Carte Price Listing

FREE BREAKFAST & LUNCH: For the 2024-25 school year, ALL West Shore School District schools qualify to serve one free breakfast and one free lunch to every student, regardless of their family's economic status. This means EVERY student in the West Shore School District will receive free meals!

Any additional servings beyond one free breakfast and one free lunch per day will require payment. Please note, milk is considered an a la carte item ($0.65), but if the student takes a milk and two other meal components, then it would be free.

This student meal update is part of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Lunch Program, which allows schools in low-income areas to provide meals at no cost to families.

Every school year, a variety of supportive opportunities are available for students based on household income. These include, but are not limited to: fee waivers for participation in after-school activities, e-rate funds that offset the cost of access to technology in classrooms, along with additional state and federal grant funding for programs and resources to support students.

Historically, the District used the Free and Reduced Meal Application to gather this data, but because the District is participating in CEP (free meals for all students) we need to use a separate application.

If your family is not notified of direct certification prior to the start of the school year and your household size and income fall within any of the ranges specified in Columns A or B below, please complete this form and return it to the WSSD Office of Federal Programs, Administration Center, PO Box 803, New Cumberland, PA17070. To qualify for assistance, students must have a signed and completed form on file.

Again, the completion of this form provides information that may further benefit other educational programs helping to support students while minimizing the need for additional local tax dollars.

Parents who believe their child who would qualify for may also apply through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS). Your child will still receive free meals regardless of paperwork status. You may find links to those pages here.

Meal prices for the 2024-2025 school year have been approved (please see below). A la carte and milk prices are determined based on "market" conditions and are subject to change throughout the school year as vendors increase the costs the District is required to pay.

Student Breakfast

Elementary (Primary and Intermediate) Breakfast - $2.05

Secondary (Middle and High) Breakfast - $2.05

Student Lunch

Elementary (Primary and Intermediate) Lunch - $3.30

Secondary (Primary and Intermediate) Lunch - $3.40 and $3.75

Adult Meals
Adult Breakfast - $2.83
Adult Lunch - $4.80

What makes a meal?

This year the District is participating in the National School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs. These programs require certain meal components be taken by the students in order for us to provide meals at the prices listed above. For meals, we offer fruits, vegetables, meat (or meat alternatives), grain, and milk. For breakfasts, students must take three components in order to purchase the regular meal. For lunch, students must take three items, but are also required to take at least a fruit or vegetable. If students do not take the required items, cashiers will encourage them to take the necessary items before charging a la carte prices. Students are not required to take milk.

For more details about the meal components, please see our reimbursable breakfast and lunch information on the website. The District is committed to providing healthy meal options for all students. Substitutions and modifications to meals can be made for students with disabling special dietary needs. In order for these accommodations to be made, parents should return a completed Medical Plan of Care for School Food Service form, signed by a physician, to the school nurse or Food Services Department at the Administration Center.

Please Note:

Students with dietary concerns should contact the school nurse for guidance or possibly consider bringing a prepared lunch from home if the uncertainty of the menu is a significant issue.

Additionally, in the event of a two-hour delay, middle and high schools will offer a modified breakfast menu and breakfast will not be served at the elementary level.

What's Cooking in 2024-2025

Free Breakfast and Lunch

For the 2024-25 school year, ALL West Shore School District schools qualify to serve one free breakfast and one free lunch to every student, regardless of their family's economic status. This means EVERY student in the West Shore School District will receive free meals! Any additional servings beyond one free breakfast and one free lunch per day will require payment.

Elementary Lunch Menus

New for elementary students in 2024-2025--there will be 4 menu options:

Option 1--main entrée--usually hot

Option 2--alternate entrée--usually a sandwich or salad

Option 3--PBJ

Option 4--Packer Buddies--this “meal” is designed as a supplement for packers, so they can receive a free milk. Current version is cheese stick, gold fish, fruit, vegetable, and milk. They only have to take three of the items and one of them needs to be a fruit/vegetable. We encourage students who are not packing lunch to select Option 1, 2, or 3.

Food Service Employment Opportunities

The Food Service Department continues looking for permanent part-time and substitute staff members. If you are looking for part time school year work opportunities (generally 4-5.5 hours per day), the Food Service Department might just be the place for you. Please complete our online application and begin working on getting your background checks for employment. The starting wage for 2024-2025 is $15/hour for entry level positions.

Are you interested in running a school cafeteria? We have two full time food service positions (HS and OT) for candidates with food service experience. These positions start at $16 per hour.

Physical Activity and Nutrition Advisory Council Seeks Members

The District’s Physical Activity and Nutrition Advisory Council (PANAC) serves as an advisory committee regarding student health issues, periodically reviewing and recommending changes to the District’s Student Physical Activity and Nutrition Policy. PANAC also serves as a Food Services Advisory Council providing students, parents/guardians, and staff the opportunity to provide feedback on the District’s Food Services Program.

PANAC continues currently looking for students, parents, and staff who may be interested in participating on the council for next year. Each building is encouraged to have a staff member, a parent, and/or a student participate. Meetings are scheduled for 3:30 at the Administration Center on September 11, 2024, November 13, 2024, February 12, 2025, and April 9, 2025. Please contact Dr. Argot [email protected] if you are interested in volunteering.

Online Fees

Effective January 1, 2024, for those who submit electronic payments through LINQ Connect, the credit and debit card convenience fees for all payments will be 3.95% of the transaction amount with a minimum fee of $2.85 per transaction, while ACH or eCheck transactions, if applicable, will be a flat fee of $1.85 per transaction. By way of example, a payment of $85 would be charged $3.24 for card payments or $1.85 for eCheck payments.

What does a meal look like?

We are providing “offer vs. serve” this year. This means that food service will offer fruit, vegetable, milk, grain, and meat or meat alternative for lunch, but students only need to take three of these components. One must be a fruit or a vegetable. For instance, a chicken patty on a bun with sliced apples would count as a meal. Milk is not a requirement. Students may have two fruits and two vegetables as part of their free meal.

Allergies

Parents of students who have a medical necessity for variations to the meal requirements are encouraged to have their student's medical provider complete and return the Medical Plan of Care for School Food Service to your school's office.

Summer EBT/SUN Bucks

Please click here for more information about this year's Summer EBT/SUN Bucks program.