- School District 49
- Nutrition Services Overview
Nutrition Services
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Free & Reduced Resource & Re-Application Reminder
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As we work hard every day to deliver excellent education and meet critical needs for all of our families, we invite you to take a look at some important information about the overall value of the Free and Reduced Benefits Program at D49.org. We also want to share a friendly reminder that is extremely important for all qualifying families to complete the application process, regardless of the availability of meals at no cost for all D49 families. This will ensure access to all the benefits provided, which support programs at your student’s schools and includes individual assistance for school and transportation fees.
Families who are new to the program can register and apply, and qualifying families may reapply today, by clicking this link to PaySchools Central.
Apply for Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) at coloradopeak.force.com/PEBT
District 49 will be participating in Healthy Meals for All in the 2023-2024 school year.
Adult Meals are $3.00 without milk for breakfast and $4.75 without milk for lunch.
Nutrition Services Overview
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The Nutrition Services department is made up of a team of food and nutrition professionals who are dedicated to student health, well being and their ability to learn. We support learning by promoting healthy habits for lifelong nutrition and fitness practices. We're available for visits from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Help with processing a free-and-reduced application is available from 8 a.m. to noon.
Meals, foods and beverages sold or served at schools meet state and federal requirements which are based on the USDA Dietary Guidelines. We provide students with access to a variety of affordable and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students.Nutrition departments are regulated by the federal government and part of that regulation is to operate as a self-funded enterprise within a school district. This means that nutrition services does not take any tax-payer’s funds from the district to operate the meal programs.
Proposition FF: Healthy Meals for All Children
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Prop FF: Additional Clarity will Inform D49 Decision on State Meals Program
School District 49 is looking closely at multiple important factors to determine how we will participate in the voter-approved Proposition FF, which would provide meals at no cost for all students.
The program, now known as “Healthy Meals for All Children,” (HMAC) seems like a no-brainer. But, as with so many government-funded programs, the details matter. So far, program managers at the state level have not ironed out how to implement this program.
The biggest concern for D49 and other districts in Colorado is how HMAC will impact at-risk students. School districts receive federal funding for students participating in the Free and Reduced price lunch program, which also qualifies districts for funds that go toward educational programs and Title I schools. As the HMAC program is designed, participating districts could lose millions of dollars in "at-risk" federal funding for education and meals.
Districts across Colorado are appropriately concerned that the state-provided free meals will drastically reduce enrollment into the Free and Reduced program, which means less funding for educating at-risk children.
We saw this exact pattern develop during the free-meals-for-all phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: in that changing economy, many families who could qualify for free and reduced benefits did not apply because congress-approved funding covered all meals. As a result, D49 experienced a 30 percent decrease in free and reduced participation.
By providing meals at no cost to children of families that can afford lunches, there is the significant potential to lose funding for educational programs and support to low-income students. These at-risk students would qualify for free meals in the current Free and Reduced program.
D49 leadership is asking itself, is it the right call to opt in to an unproven meal program, if the end result means reducing our ability to provide educational opportunities, experiences and achievements of at-risk students?
D49 is waiting on the state to clarify procedures and program details that will provide a way to continue federal funding for educating our at-risk students.
School districts have until the start of the next school year to decide on how to participate, and must opt in or opt out each year. D49 plans to make a decision by the end of May.
Colorado’s Proposition FF will help pay for school meals by limiting state tax deductions for those making more than $300,000 per year — meaning those taxpayers would pay more in taxes. That revenue would be available to school districts that choose to offer free school meals for all students. Proposition FF requires districts to apply for what’s known as the Community Eligibility Provision program to get federal funding, but D49 and other districts don’t qualify for CEP.
Proposition FF passed with 55 percent of the state vote in the November 2022 election. It was much closer in El Paso County with a win by 3,120 votes (50.56% to 49.44%).
Nutrition Services Resources
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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; or2. fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or3. email:
program.intake@usda.govThis institution is an equal opportunity provider.