Vergennes Union High School

Dear Parent or Guardian:

The 2010– 2011 school year is upon us and Café Services is pleased to manage your school’s Food Service Program. Café Services is a locally owned and operated company dedicated to serving delicious, wholesome, quality meals that meet the latest nutritional guidelines. The following are some changes you can expect to see in the Vergennes Union School District Food Service Program:

1. Menus: Vergennes Union High School will have the following stations offering a variety of daily lunch choices.  Signature Café featuring “Cooked to Order” Entrees, “Build it Bars” and “Tossed to Order” Entrée Salads; Market Fresh which will feature a minimum of 3 Entrée Salad choices and Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits; Formaggio’s Pizza featuring quality Fresh Baked Pizza made with whole wheat dough and low fat cheeses; Café Express will offer Hot “Grab and Go” Sandwiches and the Downtown Deli will serve “Made to Order” Deli Sandwiches. We will also operate a separate Snack and Beverage “à la carte” area.  Café Services will also be open prior to school each day to provide a complete nutritious breakfast featuring our Café Express  Hot “Grab and Go” Breakfast Sandwiches, Fresh Baked Bagels and assorted breakfast items. Market Fresh will have available Breakfast Parfaits and Fruit Cups.
2. Local Purchasing and Green Initiatives  - Café Services has a robust local purchasing policy, and buys directly from local farms and food producers as much as is possible. We are a strong supporter of the Farm to School initiative, and our efforts have been recognized by groups such as VT FEED and NOFA Vermont. We are also active in recycling and composting efforts, and will be introducing programs to help Vergennes Union High School reduce, reuse and recycle even more than in the past. We are always looking to build new relationships with local farmers and environmentally conscious groups – please feel free to contact your Food Service Director.

2.)  Meal Assistance Program: The meal assistance program is a federally funded program that provides reduced and free meals to families that meet the income guidelines. Applications for this program can be obtained from the school at any time during the school year. Complete the application (only one application per household is required) and return it to your child’s school. You will then be notified of the benefit level for which you qualify. You can apply or reapply at any time during the school year should your financial situation change. The program is operated in strict confidence and all students go through the same checkout process eliminating any distinction between students that are participating in the program and those who are not.

3.)  Automated Point of Sale System (POS)   The Vergennes Union School District has an automated point of sale system from “Meal Time”. Parents will have 2 methods to fund their student’s account.

Option 1. COMING SOON You may set-up an online account using a Credit/Debit card to make deposits into your child’s account. Transactions are processed through Nova utilizing the industry leader in e-commerce security of VeriSign. There is a 4.9% transaction fee charged for this service. The district is hoping to free up our cafeteria workers from having to count cash and allow them to focus instead on preparing healthy and tasty meals. Please note that you can find the directions for this procedure listed below this letter.  If you do not know your student’s I.D. number to create and access this account, it is available your child’s school issued ID card. For instructions and information on MealTime Online, please ask for a copy of our informational letter or look for it under the “Fresh Picks Café” link on the Vergennes Union High School website.

Option 2. You may send a check with your child made payable to the VUHS Lunch Program.  Please make sure to include the child’s name in the memo line.  We encourage parents to either utilize the online payment method or to send in a check with your student(s) cash will also be accepted however this does slow the lines.  This automated system will help increase the speed of service and allow students additional time for a more relaxing dining experience.  An additional benefit of using this automated system is that you will be able to go online and view your child’s account balance as well as the activity that has taken place. Prepaid monies can be used for any purchases in the cafeteria, but at any time parents may contact the school food service supervisor and request that prepaid monies be used only for meal purchases. You can do this through a ‘note’ file that opens when your child’s account is accessed online.

4.)  Credit Policy: There is a no credit policy in the Vergennes Union High School. In the event students forget or misplace their lunch money or their lunch, a meal will be provided to them and charged to their account.  At this time a letter will be sent home and information will be passed on to the building administrators.  Excessive negative balances will result in the account being turned off and your child be listed as a cash only student.

5.)   Student Allergy / Special Needs Identification: If your student has an allergy or special need when it comes to food, please contact your school nurse and have her forward any pertinent information to the food service director. Those needs can then be entered into your student’s account and will be identified by the POS when the student’s I.D. number is entered.   

 Vergennes Union High School Food Service Director:

Larry Lane                   Phone # 877-2938

Pricing                                  Lunch                                                       Breakfast

                           Full Price        Reduced       Adult                   Full Price     Reduced   Adult

High/Middle      $2.00              .40                $3.00                   $1.00           .00             $1.50

A la carte Milk   $ .50

“This explains what to do if you believe you have been treated unfairly. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

 To file a complaint of discrimination,

write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410

or call (800)795-3272 or (202) 720-6382(TTY).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”