Parent Info

2023-2024 School Year

Dear Parents:

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our families.  Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year!

The Child Nutrition Program operates 25 cafeterias in our school district.  The following meal services are available at all 25 sites during the school week:

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Free Afterschool Meals, “Super Snacks”, for students who stay after school

Our mission is to alleviate childhood hunger within our communities and increase student success by providing and promoting a nutritionally balanced diet in a friendly environment.

The Child Nutrition Program does not receive general fund support; the program operates by balancing the budget through meal & a-la-carte sales, and state/federal reimbursement. We participate in the USDA’s National School Breakfast, National School Lunch and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) programs: which are federally funded programs that provide nutritionally balanced, low cost, or free meals to students.

Each school cafeteria has a team of highly trained staff, with food safety and customer service as the highest priority.  The Child Nutrition team works together to develop healthy and appetizing meals for students, often gathering ideas from students and parents. Many of the foods are made from scratch using the best ingredients such as low-fat proteins, whole grain pastas, fresh fruits and vegetables, and freshly made bread (using hormone-free milk). The menus are analyzed and recipes adjusted to ensure they meet USDA nutritional guidelines for each age group for calories, sodium, and saturated fat.

Choices and variety are important to students, so our menus are planned to provide options. Each day there will be two to three entrée options at the elementary level and three to four at the high school level.

Lunch is made up of five basic food components: milk, meat or meat alternate, vegetable, fruit, and grain. Students must select at least three of these components for a complete meal (one of which must be a fruit or vegetable).

WHAT’S NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR?

  • New lunch menu items: Power Cups, Garden Variety, Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl, Totachos, Chicken Parmesan, BBQ Fries, Chicken Potato Bowl, and BBQ Pulled Pork.  These are just a few new items added to our tried-and-true menus.
  • Meal Payments: NO cash will be accepted beginning this school year.  However, checks and money orders will be accepted.  Parents are encouraged to create an online meal account at www.myschoolbucks.com.
  • Meal Status Changes: We are happy to report Gov. Edwards signed HB 282, which provides free meals to students meeting federal eligibility guidelines for reduced price meals.  This bill and program will become effective August 1, 2023, just in time for the 2023-24 school year.  What does this mean for you?  If your child qualifies for Reduced Priced meals, then your child will receive free meals during the school year.  No more Reduced Priced meals!  Meal applications must be submitted to see if your child qualifies.
  • Student Meal Prices for Paying Students:  Breakfast - $2.75 {Elem/Mid} & $3.00 {High} and Lunch - $3.55 {Elem/Mid} and $4.00 {High}

 

FRIENDLY REMINDERS

  • Families must complete and submit meal applications to see if their child(ren) qualify for free or reduced meals.  Approval is based on the household’s income.  The 2023-24 online meal application will be available early August 2023.  Parents can apply at:  https://www2.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict (select Diocese of Baton Rouge Child Nutrition Program for the school district).
  • Children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, runaway youth, or children of migrant workers all qualify for free school meals when their household fills out a meal  application. 
  • Children who do not qualify for free or reduced meals may pay full price for a healthy breakfast or lunch at school. 
  • There are three (3) schools that participate in the “Community Eligibility Provision” (CEP): Redemptorist St Gerard, St Francis Xavier and Mater Dolorosa.  Students attending these schools will receive free breakfast and lunch during the 2023-24 school year.  No meal applications required.
  • Parents are encouraged to setup their child(ren)’s online meal accounts.
  • We are sensitive to the various nutritional needs of our students. If your child has any food allergies, please have your child’s physician complete the required Diet Prescription Form, which can be found on our website (https://cnpbr.org/sites/default/files/media/Diet-Presciption-(rev-06-16).pdf) and contact your school nurse.

We hope that you and your child(ren) have a great year! Please feel free to call our office with any questions or comments.

 

Sincerely,

Lynda Carville

CNP Director

 

Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
  3. email:
    program.intake@usda.gov

 This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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Online Meal Payment System 

 

Dear Parents/Guardians:

The Child Nutrition Program is excited to announce our online payment system MySchoolBucks®! This online payment service provides a quick and easy way to add money to your student’s meal account using a credit/debit card or electronic check.

You can also view recent purchases, check balances, and set-up low balance alerts for FREE!

MySchoolBucks provides:

  • Convenience - Available 24/7 on the web or with the Mobile App for your iPhone, Android or Windows phone!
  • Efficiency - Make payments for all your students, even if they attend different schools within the district. Eliminate the need for your students to take money to school.
  • Control - Set low balance alerts, view account activity, recurring/automatic payments & more!
  • Flexibility - Make payments using credit/debit cards and electronic checks.
  • Security – MySchoolBucks adheres to the highest security standards, including PCI and CISP.

Enrollment is easy!

1. Go to www.MySchoolBucks.com and register for a free account.

2. You will receive a confirmation email with a link to activate your account.

3. Add your student(s) using:

School District: Diocese of Baton Rouge Child Nutrition Program

School Name: The Diocesan School Your Child Attends

Student Info: Name, DOB, and Mailing Address.

4. Make a payment to your students’ accounts with your credit/debit card or electronic check. A program fee of $2.49 will apply. You will have the opportunity to review payment/ fees and cancel if you choose, before you are charged.

If you have any questions, contact MySchoolBucks directly:

Thank you,

Lynda Carville, CNP Supervisor

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Free/Reduced Priced Meal Info

 

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Child Nutrition Afterschool Meals (Supper) Program

The Child Nutrition Program will continue the Afterschool Meals (Supper) Program at participating schools.

The Afterschool Meals (Supper) Program is a component of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) that offers Federal funding to afterschool programs that serve a meal or snack to children through the age of 18.

In order to qualify, the program must provide educational or enrichment activities in an organized, structured, and supervised environment. Although there are no specific requirements for the types of educational and enrichment activities that a program can offer, examples include, but are not limited to, arts and crafts, homework assistance, life skills, remedial education, organized fitness activities, etc.

All programs that participate in the afterschool supper program must report the total number of meals and snacks served to eligible children based on daily attendance rosters or sign-in sheets. These records must be kept for three years.

For more information, please click here.

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Extra Sales:

If your child participates daily or brings a bag lunch, he/she may purchase individual servings (Extra Sales) instead of, or in addition to, the meal offered as part of the National School Lunch Program; as long as your child has money in his/her meal account.

All students can purchase the following Extra Sales items: an extra entrée, extra salad, extra vegetables, extra fruit, extra roll, extra milk, Ice cream, cookies, fruit juice, bottled water, etc.

Additional information regarding the Extra Sales program:

  • Students cannot charge Extra Sale items.
  • Additional money will need to be deposited into your child’s account (this includes students that were approved for free or reduced meals).
  • Students will be allowed to purchase Extra Sale items unless the parent submits the Extra Sales NON-PARTICIPATION FORM stating that they do not want their child/children to purchase Extra Sales. This form must be submitted to the café manager at your child’s school by the 2nd week of August.

Please feel free to contact your café manager if you need any additional information.

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Food Allergies:

To better serve our students with special diet needs, all dietary orders will need to be renewed EACH SCHOOL YEAR. Dietary requests will be valid only for the school year in which they are written and will expire at the end of the school year. Current dietary requests will expire on the last day of school of this current school year.

If you have not submitted a form for this school year, please submit a form to your Café Manager and school nurse on a current Louisiana Special dietary order form. As with new dietary requests, signature from a physician or other recognized medical authority is required.

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Request for Refund of Meal Account Money

Student’s meal account money will be automatically carried over to the next school year.

However, parents/guardians should submit a Refund Request at the end of the current school year if any of the following situations occur:

1) The student is graduating from the 8th or 12th grade and is not returning to a Diocesan school OR

2) The student is no longer enrolled at a Diocesan school.

Refund Requests will be accepted during the current school year for the following reasons only:

1) The student's meal status has changed OR

2) The student is no longer enrolled at a Diocesan school.

If any of the above apply to your child(ren), please complete the 2023-2024 Refund of Meal Money Form by and turn it in to the cafeteria manager at your child's school.3

Refunds will be made by check only and will be mailed to the address indicated on the Refund Request form. No credit / debit cards will be credited. Convenience fees charged for making online payments and NSF fees are non-refundable.

Please allow 30 days for your request to be processed; from the date it is received in the Child Nutrition Program's Central Office.  All End-of-Year refunds will be processed in June.

NOTE: If you are trying to request a refund for the 2022-2023 school year, please complete this form and email it to the CNP office at cnp@diobr.org.  2022-23 Refund Request Form