Nutrition Protocols
Lynbrook UFSD Child Nutrition Protocols
A successful nutrition program is a crucial component to a thriving educational environment. Children cannot focus on learning when they are hungry. School meals boost learning, and studies show that students perform best academically when they are well-nourished. The Lynbrook School District served over 10,000 meals during the school closure and enlisted the services of a force of volunteers who administered the foodservice program with compassion and dedication. The District intends to continue its commitment to providing meals to all students during the COVID-19 reopening period.
The Lynbrook Union Free School District, in its capacity as a School Food Authority (SFA), administers the National School Lunch Program and the National School Breakfast Program at three Recipient Agency (RA) sites: Lynbrook Senior High School, Lynbrook North Middle School, and Lynbrook South Middle School. It also administers the National School Milk Program at its three elementary schools (Marion Street Elementary School, Waverly Park Elementary School, and West End Elementary School) as well as at the Atlantic Avenue Kindergarten Center. The District contracts Aramark as its Food Service Management Company (FCM).
School meals will be provided for all students daily at the middle schools and the high school. Meals will be offered to students who are in physical attendance at a school building in the form of a grab and go style meal. Meals will be served in the school cafeterias and the gymnasia. Students who are not in physical attendance, but who are learning in home environments will have meals made available to them in a grab and go format at designated locations outside each building. Students who participate in the District’s hybrid educational model will be offered a second grab and go meal for the next day when they remotely attend school. Milk will be provided at all elementary schools and the Kindergarten Center. Milk will be available for pick up for students who are attending school remotely.
Food preparation standards and health and safety guidelines are the contractual obligation of Aramark as FSMC. The District will continue to enforce all health and safety obligations according to the terms of the contract. Meal planning is also a contractual obligation of the FSMC. All meals will be served following the standard meal service pattern required by the State of New York.
Students will be spaced a minimum of six feet apart in all food consumption areas. This social distance will allow the student to eat freely without a mask. Should this distance be unable to be maintained in any food consumption area, the District will provide a physical barrier.
The school principal, with the close cooperation of the school nurse, will provide for the protection of students with food allergies both in traditional cafeteria space as well as in gymnasia. The school nurse will compile a list of all students with allergies in a confidential manner. Principals will make arrangements that students with allergies remain protected by providing priority seating in all meal consumption locations. Since student allergies are highly confidential information, principals will provide safe environments without calling overt attention nor shame to students with allergies.
In addition to soap and sinks in lavatories, the District is also providing portable hand washing stations equipped with hot water and soap in locations near to all meal consumption areas. The District will also provide an adequate supply of hand sanitizer in all meal consumption areas. Signage will be placed at various spots around the building, but most especially at meal consumption spaces, that encourage and instruct students in proper hand hygiene. Teachers and monitors on lunch duty will also remind students of the need for proper hand hygiene by making an announcement that does not target nor cause shame to any student.
All meal consumption areas will be cleaned after each meal consumption period. The tables will be washed with appropriate cleaning solutions.
Applications for Free and Reduced meals are available on the District’s website in both English and Spanish. Forms are also mailed to all student homes and are part of the registration packet provided to new families to the District. The District also uses a direct certification method to ascertain eligible students whose families receive public financial assistance. This information is highly confidential and is shared only with staff who are directly involved in the delivery of the benefit to the students. Announcements about meal availability will be available in both English and Spanish on the District website. Any new announcements regarding changes to meal service or availability will be posted. Families will be alerted to check the website to view the information through the use of the Parent Link Robocall Service.