Food & Nutrition Services

Do families need to pay for school meals?

Students attending a school in Salem-Keizer Public Schools are offered one breakfast and one lunch each day at no cost thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

Where do we find the Free/Reduced Price Meals application?

Families do not need to fill out or submit an application for free or reduced-price meals at this time thanks to our CEP status district wide. All students in the District are offered a breakfast and a lunch each school day at no cost to them.

How can I get a letter that says my student gets free school meals?

If you need a letter that explains your student is eligible to receive free school meals, please contact your student's school office or the email the Food and Nutrition Services team and we will be happy to create that letter for you.

What is the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)?

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a USDA program that helps to provide one breakfast and one lunch per school day at no cost to high-poverty schools and districts in low-income areas, without requiring household applications. Schools that utilize CEP are reimbursed using a formula that is based on the percentage of students who are eligible for free meals based on their participation in other means-tested programs, such as SNAP and TANF.  

For more information on this program, please visit the USDA's Community Eligibility Provision webpage.

Where can I see the breakfast and lunch menus for my student's school?

The intended school menus can be found at the top of this page as well as the Sodexo Nutrislice website. In addition to the monthly scheduled menu, the Nutrislice site provides a break down of the nutrition and allergy information of school meal items.

A friendly reminder: posted menus are what we plan to serve students, but the menu is subject to change based on item availability and special circumstances.

What is included in my student's meal?

• Breakfast at all Salem-Keizer Public Schools includes four items:
  • An entrée (which often includes two items, a grain and a protein), a fruit, and milk. 
• Lunch at elementary schools consist of five components that are automatically served to students:
  • A protein, a grain, a fruit, a vegetable, and milk.
• Lunch at secondary schools (middle and high schools) differs in that while all five meal components are offered to students, they only have to take three of them.

What are food components?

There are five recognized food components in Child Nutrition Programs:

• Meat and meat alternative (commonly referred to as protein)
• Grains
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Fluid milk

Each component group has a set of rules that schools must follow to ensure that items served to students are as nutritional as can be. For example, milk that is provided to students must be fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1% or less).

How can the food be "healthy" if students are given foods considered "unhealthy"?

Though our menu offers popular items that can often be found in grocery stores and restaurants, our meals are very different. The food we serve is formulated to be lower in fat, sodium, and sugar and higher in fiber, in order to comply with federal school meal regulations.

For example, all grain items, such as pasta, breads, and tortillas, are whole-grain rich. Additionally, we do not serve students anything that is fried, all menu items that are typically fried are baked in an oven instead.

How can I learn more about the rules schools follow?

If you are interested in knowing more about the State and Federal rules that Food and Nutrition Services follows, we encourage you to visit the websites below:

USDA Nutrition Standards for School Meals

Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs

How much food is my student served?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets meal requirements for school breakfast and lunch programs based on the most current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These requirements specify amounts of food to be served each day for different age groups over a five-day school week. The charts below show the USDA's required measurements for breakfast and lunch servings that our Food and Nutrition Services team uses to plan meals for students.

What if my student is still hungry after they have already finished their school meal?

Although we are unable to provide a second entrée item, students are welcome to have as many fruits and vegetables as they would like.

• Breakfast at all schools- Students are encouraged to request more fruit from our kitchen teams.
• Elementary lunch- Students can ask kitchen staff for more fruit and vegetables or check the sharing table. 
• Middle and High school lunch- Students have access to a fruit and vegetable offering bar located just outside the serving area.  

For more information, download Oregon Department of Education's Breakfast Meal Pattern at a Glance PDF.

For more information, download Oregon Department of Education's Lunch Meal Pattern at a Glance PDF.

What is included in my student's breakfast?

• Breakfast at all Salem-Keizer Public Schools includes four items:
  • An entrée (which often includes two items, a grain and a protein), a fruit, and milk. 

What if my student is still hungry after they have already eaten a school breakfast?

Although we are unable to provide a second entrée item, students are welcome to have as many fruits and vegetables as they would like. If a student finishes their breakfast and is still hungry, they are encouraged to request more fruit from our kitchen teams.

What if my student is hungry when they get to school but the bell has already rung?

Our schools participate in a program called Breakfast After the Bell, which allows us to provide a breakfast to students after the start-of-day bell has rung. Students who have not yet eaten breakfast at school can receive a breakfast up to 30 minutes before the first lunch service begins. For example, if lunch starts at 11 a.m., students can get a breakfast until 10:30 a.m.

What is included in my student's lunch?

Lunch at Elementary Schools

• Operates a service style called "Serve" - where a student selects which entrée and milk they would like, and all components are placed on the students tray for them
• Includes five components: a protein, a grain, a fruit, a vegetable, and milk

Lunch at Middle and High (Secondary) Schools

• Operates a service style called "Offer-Versus-Serve" - where all components are offered to the student, but only three must be taken, where one item must be a fruit or a vegetable.
  • This style is required by the state to be used at all Secondary schools.
• Includes five components: a protein, a grain, a fruit, a vegetable, and milk
• For students who wish to have more fruits or vegetables with their lunch, an offering bar, or salad bar, is located near the end of the service area at each secondary school

What if my student is still hungry after they have eaten their lunch?

Although we are unable to provide a second entrée item, students are welcome to have as many fruits and vegetables as they would like. If a student finishes their lunch and are still hungry, they are encouraged to have more fruit and vegetables.

• In elementary schools- Students can ask kitchen staff for more fruit and vegetables or check the sharing table. 
• In secondary schools- Students have access to a fruit and vegetable offering bar located just outside the serving area.  

What is a sharing table?

A sharing table is a location in the cafeteria's common area where students can place any prepackaged or whole fruit they do not want that other students can take. Sharing tables are advocated by the USDA to encourage students to eat more nutritious foods and reduce food waste. To learn more about sharing tables, we recommend you read about sharing tables on the USDA website.

What if my student only wants a milk?

• In elementary schools- Students will be asked to either check the sharing table or to take a whole school meal if they want a milk. Any prepackaged or whole fruit items in the school meal that they do not want can be placed on the sharing table for their peers to access.
• In secondary schools-  Students will be directed to check the sharing table or to take at least two other components, one of which being a fruit or a vegetable. Any items they do not want that are prepackaged or are whole fruit can be placed on the sharing table for their peers to access.

Why does meal service take so long?

Each school has different amounts of time dedicated to lunch and our kitchen teams do their best to serve students as quickly and safely as they can. Our goal is for students to have as much time as possible to eat their meal before heading to their next destination.

To give an idea of how many students our schools serve each day:

• Elementary schools serve approximately 100 students in 7-10 minutes
• Middle schools serve approximately 600 students in 10-15 minutes
• High schools serve approximately 600 students in 10-15 minutes

The USDA “encourages schools to provide sufficient lunch periods that are long enough to give all students adequate time to be served and to eat their lunches”.  Food and Nutrition Services does not determine the time students are given for their lunch or when lunch begins. Lunch times are managed by each individual school.

What if my student has a food allergy or intolerance?

In most cases, medically necessary meal accommodations can be made for students, this includes if your student has a food related allergy, a food intolerance, or has a medical need that creates reasoning for why they cannot eat certain foods.  To request a meal accommodation for your student, a Medical Meal Accommodation Form will need to be completed and signed by a licensed health care professional, such as a medical Doctor of Medicine, a Certified Nurse Practitioner, a Doctor of Naturopathy, etc. This form includes necessary information for the Food and Nutrition Team to know why the accommodation is necessary, what foods need to be avoided or omitted, and what foods can be substituted or used as an alternative. 

Once the form is completed, please send this form to your student's school nurse and email it to Food and Nutrition Services. Once submitted, a plan will be developed, and communicated with the school kitchen team, to best manage your student's meal accommodation needs. 

What if we want a meal accommodation, but it is not medically needed?

Unfortunately, due to the large size of our district, we are only able accommodate medically-required dietary restrictions for students, and can no longer support dietary preferences. We understand many families may prefer or require certain dietary restrictions for religious, cultural, or personal reasons. While we are unable to monitor or enforce individual preferences, we encourage you to discuss your preferences with your student so they can make informed choices during meal times.

Though the district does not accommodate preferences, our menus do not currently include pork products. Items that are traditionally made from pork are instead made from turkey and chicken, this includes items with sausage, ham, and pepperoni.

Where does Food and Nutrition Services get their funding?

Food Services is different from the rest of the district in regard to funding. Unlike the other departments that rely on the District's yearly budget, Food Services is federally funded and the money we receive is separate from the rest of the district. The funding our department receives must go to very specific things, such as buying food for students and updating our kitchens to meet safety standards.

How do I contact the Food and Nutrition Services team?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding food service at your student's school, please reach out to our Food and Nutrition Services Team by emailing food_service@salkeiz.k12.or.us or calling 503-509-3091 ext. 2.

Can I share input on menu items?

Let us know what menu items your students like! Visit salkeiz.nutrislice.com and find your student's school, then locate and click on the menu item you would like to share your thoughts on. Once you click the stars to rate the item, a comment box will appear where you can provide additional feedback, as well as your name and email address.