Helena Public Schools and Sodexo

FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH PROGRAM

The application for the 2022-23 Free and Reduced Lunch Program will be available here on July 15, 2022.

Helena Public Schools Breakfast & Lunch Program
The Helena Public Schools Breakfast and Lunch Program has always prided itself on providing nutritious and healthy meals for all Helena students. Staff members are trained to recognize and encourage children to eat a complete well-balanced meal. While there will always be a delicate balance between what children want to eat and what the lunch program serves, we believe we have and will continue to meet this balance by listening to our customers, guiding and training our staff and implementing all of the tools at our disposal.

National School Lunch Program
The Helena Public Schools Breakfast and Lunch Program participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). As participants, we must serve lunches consistent with the applicable recommendations of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (the Food Pyramid), including a variety of foods; a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables and fruits; a diet moderate in sugars and salt; and a diet with 30% or less of calories from fat and less than 10% of calories from saturated fat. Additionally, lunches must provide, on average over each school week, at least 1/3 of the daily Recommended Dietary Allowances for protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. School lunches must meet Federal nutrition requirements, but decisions about what specific foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by local school food service personnel.

MEAL CHANGES FOR SUMMER AND THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR

Over the course of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the District’s Food Services team served more than 2 million breakfasts and lunches to our community’s children – free of charge – with funding from the US Department of Agriculture.

As we return to a normal school environment, that federal funding is ending. This means three changes as we return to pre-pandemic meal policies:

• Students who are not qualified to receive Free and Reduced Lunch must pay the regular price for meals.
• To qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program during the 2022-23 school year, families must fill out a 2022-23 Free and Reduced Lunch application, which will be available here July 15, or meet one of the following criteria:

– Certified to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps

– Certified to participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF).

– Participate in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).

– Foster child/family.

• The “Munchtana” food truck will provide free meals in the parks again this summer, but with some changes. Children must be present to receive meals and food must be eaten on site (weekly take-home meals will no longer be provided.)

2022-23 MEAL PRICES

BREAKFAST

K-12 Student Breakfast: $2 (2019 Price: $1.45)
Adult Breakfast: $3.50 (2019 Price: $2.50)

LUNCH

K-5 Student Lunch: $2.90 (2019 Price: $2.70)
6-12 Student Lunch: $3 (2019 Price: $2.80)
Adult Lunch: $5 (2019 Price: $3.75)

MILK

$.50 (2019 Price: $.50)

If you have pre-pandemic balances for student meals, this summer is a good time to work on paying them off so you can start the 2022-2023 school year without a balance. Positive and negative Food Services balances follow a student from pre-school through high school graduation. With questions, please contact the Food Service Office at (406) 324-2570.