School Nutrition Update

The school nutrition program will be offering several new options for the winter cycle menu. New options include fruit smoothies for breakfast; spinach and chicken empanadas; chicken and vegetable dumplings; and cheesy chicken pasta. Our partnership with our local vendors allows us to continue offer fresh fruit daily to students. At the secondary level, an à la carte option will be reinstated in March where students will be able to purchase additional entrée items, fruit, vegetables, and beverages.

Anticipating Supplier Issues

While chain supply issues are prevalent across the food industry, we continue to meet or exceed all requirements while providing breakfast and lunch daily. To be proactive, APS has also contracted with additional vendors to provide backup deliveries, when deemed necessary.

Meal Portions

APS follows United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines regarding meals served for breakfast and lunch, requiring daily and weekly amounts of five food components for breakfast (milk, fruits, and grain) and lunch (milk, fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat/meat alternates). To meet USDA dietary specifications, breakfasts are designed to provide approximately one-fourth of a child’s total daily calories and key nutrients, and lunches one-third. As an example, if chicken nuggets and French fries are menu items, students should receive five chicken nuggets to meet the 2-ounce equivalents requirement and approximately 9 to 10 French fries or four potato wedges. APS continues to meet the USDA requirements for meals served to students.

If you have questions, please contact the Food Services Office at 703-228-6130 or visit the Food Services webpage.