Welcome to the Nutrition Services Department

The Bedford City Schools Nutrition Services Department is pleased to welcome all of our students and staff back for the school year. Last year, we proudly served over 193,000 breakfasts and over 244,000 lunches to the students of our district.

We work hard every day to serve healthy, compliant, and delicious meals to our students. We provide frequent in-service training for all Nutrition Services Staff on all levels of food safety, food handling and sanitation. Each of our six kitchens is inspected by the Board of Health at least twice a year.

In addition, every kitchen employs at least one person with level II ServSafe Certification.

One of the challenges nutrition services face every day is offering more fruit and vegetable options that the students will taste and enjoy. Last year, we pushed forward with our farm to school efforts by partnering with Feed Our Future to promote the use of locally grown produce. This partnership allowed us to serve fresh, local corn on the cob, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other fresh produce to our students.

With the help of the Oberlin Food Hub, items like these are made available and delivered to us at the peak of freshness. Approximately, 95% of our lettuce is provided by Green City Growers, a state-of-the art greenhouse, located right in Cleveland. This super fresh produce is nutrient-rich and pesticide-free. Quarry Hill Orchards provides us with locally grown peaches, pears and apples.

Take time to talk to your children about the different fruits and vegetables they eat at school. Together, we can promote and encourage a healthier lifestyle for our children.

Students are offered a variety of snacks, foods and beverages appropriate to their age group that can be purchased ala carte. All of these foods are Smart Snack Compliant and meet the guidelines set by the USDA.

Students must have a  2023-2024 Free and Reduced Meal Application on file ASAP, or have received notification of Direct Certification to continue to be eligible for free and reduced benefits. The 2023-2024 Free and Reduced Application is available online by clicking here. This application is completely secure, confidential, and can mean a faster consideration of your household status. Students that do not have a 2023-2024 application or a Direct Certification notice must be removed from the program. You may reapply at any time during the school year.

A letter or email from the Nutrition Services Department welcoming you to the Free and Reduced Meal Program or denying acceptance will be sent back to everyone who applies. If you do not receive a letter or email from us that is an indication we have not received your student’s application or that the application is incomplete. USDA does not allow the processing of incomplete applications. If you have any questions, please contact the Nutrition Services Department at 440-439-4530.

PUBLIC RELEASE FORM

PLEASE NOTE: Regardless of the method of applying, families are responsible for any food service charges incurred prior to their child receiving approval for Free and Reduced meals.

Meal Prices

Breakfast may be purchased at Central, Glendale, Carylwood and Columbus for $1.50 and lunch for $2.50. Heskett and High School breakfast is $1.75 and lunch is $2.75. Your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced-price meals. The reduced price for breakfast and lunch is $0.00 for the 2023-24 school year. The State of Ohio budget has included funding to cover the cost of reduced meals for students who qualify under the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program.

Please note that all returned checks will be assessed a $15 fee.

Point of Sale (POS)
Nutrition Services uses a computerized Point of Sale to record and track all student transactions. This method preserves the confidentiality of your student’s Free and Reduced status and allows you to review purchases made by your student throughout the year. The district is in the process of switching to a new POS payment program. Once the switch is complete, instructions will follow. In the meantime, parents/caregivers may send cash or check with their student or make payment at the school or Nutrition Services Office.

Food Allergies and Dietary Restrictions
If your child suffers from a food allergy or a dietary restriction, please let the Cafeteria know! You must provide a doctor’s note for any serious allergies or dietary restrictions with appropriate food substitutions every year. For a copy of the Diet Prescription for Special Meals Form, click here. In addition, the USDA has changed their liquid milk/ dairy intolerance policy. Nutrition Services may no longer provide a substitution for liquid milk on plate meals unless your doctor provides documentation stating your child suffers a life-threatening condition. If your child is lactose intolerant, he/she may decline the offered liquid milk as part of the plate meal. Your student may purchase 8 oz bottled water for $.50 or 6.75oz 100% juice for $.65 or he/she may bring a beverage from home. We urge that you provide only healthier beverages for your child to bring to school.

School Breakfast
This year Nutrition Services will be working on increasing breakfast participation throughout the District. Students who eat breakfast have better attendance, fewer behavior issues, increased class participation and higher test scores. While absenteeism, anxiety, tardiness and school nurse visits decrease. This year one of our schools was recognized as a winner in the Ohio School Breakfast Challenge-2019. Ohio school districts and 313 schools were named Breakfast All Stars for their outstanding efforts in serving school breakfast so all students start their day ready to learn. Breakfast All Star schools met the Ohio School Breakfast Challenge criteria and will receive recognition and a Breakfast All Star Banner to proudly display at their school at the 2019 Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference.

Congratulations to CENTRAL PRIMARY SCHOOL for receiving a GOLD AWARD for 70-79% Average Daily Participation (ADP) for school breakfast.
Our goal is for all of our schools to receive an award for the 2020 Challenge. Parents/guardians encourage your students to start their day off right by eating school breakfast.

Green Effort
Nutrition Services will be transitioning to molded fiber lunch trays that are made from 100% recycled fibers and are certified 100% compostable. We will also remove plastic straws from everyday services. This is a conscious effort to reduce our carbon footprint. Styrofoam trays contribute to a very large part of our daily trash in the District, which in turn gets thrown into a landfill where they do not decompose. Over 500,000,000 plastic straws are used in the United States every day and most end up in our oceans polluting the water and threatening marine life. All of the kitchens in the District will be developed on and off schedule, to minimize the length of time equipment runs when not in use. Staff are encouraged to turn off lights that aren’t needed, keep cooler and freezer doors closed as much as possible and to be aware of how much food waste is generated daily in order to reduce our waste. The plan is to increase our Green Effort each year.

Questions or Concerns
If you have any concerns or questions regarding the Free and Reduced Meal Program, the POS, Allergies etc., please feel free to call us or e-mail: 440-439-4530 or jdickson@bedfordschools.org. Our offices are located at Bedford High School, 481 Northfield Road in Bedford, and our hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day school is in session.

*Alliance for a Healthier Generation.