Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Meals topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
King George nutrition director reports large participation gains under Community Eligibility, cites $96,432 ending balance
Summary
School nutrition staff reported increased participation after implementing the Community Eligibility Provision at King George Elementary and reviewed fiscal numbers, equipment investments and a plan to address negative student meal balances.
King George County School Nutrition Director Michelle Davis (presented as Mrs. Davis) briefed the board on participation, financial status and recent purchases for the division’s meal programs.
Davis reported meal-program participation increases after King George Elementary implemented the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). She said October 2023 participation before CEP was 6,431 breakfasts and 6,977 lunches; after CEP was implemented at that school, participation rose to 8,790 breakfasts and 9,177 lunches, an increase Davis described numerically as about a 36.7% rise in breakfast participation and a 31.5% rise in lunch participation.
Davis reviewed program operations: the district participates in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, Seamless Summer, summer food service, Community Eligibility Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. She explained menu components, portion sizes and the “offer versus serve” rules that require students to take a minimum number of components for a reimbursable meal.
On finance, Davis said the school nutrition ending balance for fiscal year 2024–25 was $96,432 and that the beginning balance for the current year is $72,290 after recent equipment purchases. She listed capital improvements paid from program funds: new warmers, remodeled serving lines at elementary schools, double-stack convection ovens at Sealson Elementary, salad bars and electrical work at the middle school, and six combi ovens for the high school. Davis also described an equipment that dispenses milk that contributed to higher milk consumption.
Board members asked about negative meal-account balances and allowable charges. Davis said the district may not deny a reimbursable meal to a student and that only meals can be charged to negative accounts; students with negative balances cannot buy a la carte snacks. She said school administrators are working with families and the Department of Social Services to help parents who qualify for free or reduced-price meals but have not completed paperwork.
Davis told the board the nutrition office invites parents and community members to nutrition-committee meetings and will consider parent recipes and samples for inclusion on menus that meet USDA requirements. The presentation closed with the director offering the board samples of a new all‑natural burger that staff and students had favored at a food show.
