Beginning on December 1, 2023, students enrolled at Valley Central CSD are now eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge to your household each day of the 2023-24 school year.
The USDA published a final rule in the Federal Register on September 26, 2023, to expand access to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) by lowering the minimum identified student percentage (ISP)1 participation threshold from 40 percent to 25 percent. The rule gives more high-need schools the option to elect CEP and offer all students healthy school meals at no cost when it is financially viable for them to do so.
The combination of the federal change and the Community Eligibility Provision State Subsidy has provided our district with the opportunity to apply for free meals for breakfast and lunch for all of our students. We submitted the application and were awarded the reimbursement rates for every meal.
Can you substitute for a food service worker?
Request an application from subforvc@vcsdny.org
FIND our MENU HERE
The Valley Central School District believes one of the most important ways in which we can help our children perform better in their classrooms is to provide them with the nutrition necessary for the healthy growth of their minds and bodies.
At Valley Central, we work with a local farmer to obtain all of our fresh fruits and vegetables. Our menu for both Breakfast and Lunch meets all the required nutrition regulated by NYS Child Nutrition Program. A nutritional analysis is available. There are five components to the lunch meal: Meat/meat alternative, Grain, Vegetable, and Fruit and Milk.
As of 12/1/23, Student Breakfast and Lunch is free every day for EVERY student.
Milk price is $.75 if sold separately.
A la carte items or other similar items must be paid/prepaid. No charging of A la carte items will be permitted.
Please note if there a balance owed on a student’s account, they are not able to purchase a la carte items.
Elementary, Middle, and High school students use the WebSmart automated cashier system using their school ID number. Parents may contact MySchoolbucks.com to set up student accounts, or with a check payable to Valley Central School District, or money can be given directly to the cashier to place on your child’s account.
School Breakfast Program
It is a fact that hungry children cannot learn. The first step is ensuring that all students begin the day with a nutritious breakfast at home or at school. School breakfast participation has been shown to improve standardized test scores, make kids more alert in class, and improve classroom behavior.
The School Breakfast Program is available to all students every weekday that school is in session. No advanced registration is necessary; your child can attend every day or only occasionally. School breakfast provides your child with one-quarter of their nutritional needs each day.
Our school breakfast offers a variety of foods each day, which are both tasty and nutritious. Find our Breakfast Menu here.
Working together we can make sure that all of our students start the day alert, well-fed, and ready to learn.
Free Meal and Reduced Meal Benefit
Learn more about Free Meal and Reduced Meal Benefit here.
CHARGING SCHOOL MEALS AND PROHIBITION AGAINST MEAL SHAMING
The goal of the Valley Central School District is to provide student access to nutritious no- or low-cost meals each school day and to ensure that a pupil whose parent/guardian has unpaid school meal fees is not shamed or treated differently than a pupil whose parent/guardian does not have unpaid meal fees. Unpaid charges place a large financial burden on our school.
The purpose of this policy is to ensure compliance with federal requirements for the USDA Child Nutrition Program and, and to provide oversight and accountability for the collection of outstanding student meal balances to ensure that the student is not stigmatized, distressed or embarrassed. The intent of this policy is to establish procedures to address unpaid meal charges throughout the Valley Central School District in a way that does not stigmatize, distress or embarrass students. The provisions of this policy pertain to regular priced reimbursable school breakfast, lunch and snack meals only.
The Valley Central School District provides this policy as a courtesy to those students in the event that they forget or lose their money. Charging of items outside of reimbursable meals (a la carte items, adult meals, etc.) is expressly prohibited.
Everyone is encouraged to fill out the Free and Reduced Application English. ( Aplicación gratuita y reducida: en español) Applications can be returned to your youngest child’s building or faxed to (845) 457-3003. Only one application per household is needed. By filling out an application your child could be eligible for other free and reduced-price programs (such as Summer EBT) that retrieve the information when an application is submitted.
MySchoolbucks.com
Students/Parents/Guardians may pay for meals in advance via myschoolbucks.com or with a check payable to Valley Central School District, or money can be given directly to the cashier to place on your child’s account. Funds should be maintained in accounts to minimize the possibility that a child may be without meal money on any given day.
Any remaining funds for a particular student may/will be carried over to the next school year.
Refunds for withdrawn, and graduating students; a written or e-mailed request for a refund of any money remaining in their account must be submitted. Students who are graduating at the end of the year will be given the option to transfer to a sibling’s account with a written request.
Unclaimed Funds must be requested within one school year. Unclaimed funds will then become the property of the Valley Central School District Food Service Program.
VCSD Wellness Policy
The Valley Central School District recognizes that schools play a critical role in promoting student health, preventing childhood obesity and combating problems associated with poor nutrition and physical activity. The Valley Central School District is committed to providing a school environment and experiences which promote healthy choices and physical activity.