School Lunch
Child Nutrition Information
| NAME | TITLE | EX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lea Bonelli, MS RD | Director, Child Nutrition Services | x2570 | lea.bonelli@eusd.net |
| Anne Bartlett | Child Nutrition Specialist | x2571 | anne.bartlett@eusd.net |
| Lisa Turley | Operations Assistant | x2572 | lisa.turley@eusd.net |
Breakfast & Lunch Menus
October Menu (Visually Impaired)
Meet Our Vendors/Know Our Products: check out the variety of local, sustainable, and organic farmers & vendors that we use in our school meals!
Please visit www.schoolcafe.com to get school menus, allergens, and nutrition information on your phone!
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Free Meals Available to EUSD Students for the 2024-25 school year!
Free meals will be available again to all enrolled EUSD students for the 2024-25 school year! This includes both breakfast and lunch at all 9 school sites!
Paperwork or meal applications are not needed in order for your child to receive free meals; however, families may still apply for free/reduced priced meals in order to receive additional benefits that span across other district and community programs. Visit our "Meal Applications" section for more information.
For parents and visitors, please check with your school site about visiting your child during lunch. If you are entering campus during breakfast and would like to eat with your child before the bell rings, breakfast is available for purchase for visitors and non-EUSD children. Meal prices for staff, visitors, and non-EUSD children are as follows:
Adult/Visitor/Non-EUSD Children Lunch: $6.00
Adult/Visitor/Non-EUSD Children Breakfast: $4.00
Important School Meal Details for Parents
School Breakfast is offered at all 9 school sites before school starts. Please check with your school office for exact times and details about breakfast service at your child's school (typically between 7:30 am -8:00 am). Every breakfast comes with one entrée, assorted fruit, yogurt, string cheese, and locally-sourced milk.
School Lunch is where we shine. Often featuring scratch made hot entrees that will make even the pickiest eater happy! Every school lunch comes with one entrée, unlimited salad bar, locally-sourced milk, any side dishes (which rotate across the menu), and dessert on Fridays!
To receive lunch, students will either scan their lunch card or enter their four-digit pin number when they go through the lunch line (both provided at the beginning of the SY by their teacher). Take a look at our school lunch menus to see the variety of options offered daily, including vegetarian and gluten free options.
What Makes EUSD's Lunch Program Different ?
Encinitas USD Child Nutrition Services is committed to serving the healthiest meals around! We focus on scratch-made entrees that feature locally sourced produce and proteins, often grown on our own certified organic Farm Lab. We serve responsibly-sourced, sustainably raised meats whenever possible. Our pizza is made fresh in house, with organic pizza dough made fresh daily and pizza sauce made with Farm Lab organic tomatoes and herbs. Our daily unlimited salad bars are a main focus of our school lunch, packed with local and organic produce for students to choose from. Often featuring organic EUSD Farm Lab grown produce, local fruits and vegetables and a variety of other toppings.
We are proud to be able to provide students, parents, and community partners with the information that will allow our students to make educated choices regarding their school meals. All menu, nutrition information and allergens can be found on www.schoolcafe.com. The information provided on School Café is based on current information from manufacturers and Encinitas USD recipes.
Please be aware that there are factors that may affect a product’s actual nutritional value and/or ingredient composition at any given time. Our menu's are subject to change at any given time, but if a change does occur, our CNS team will make a dietitian-approved menu substitution. Some of the factor's that may affect a change in the menu/food product include: manufacturers’ formulations may change without notice; USDA products may become available at any time during the year and may replace a purchased item; product brands may change during the year; shortages or failed deliveries may result in menu substitutions; and recipes may change during the school year.
Food Allergies & Diet Accommodations
All food allergies are monitored and tracked by our school nurses, health techs, and teachers. However, when a student with a food allergy decides to eat breakfast or lunch in our school meal program, a few additional steps are needed.
Child Nutrition Services has a student system that operates independently of the district's student information system. Typically, when a student's food allergy is documented on an emergency card, this information isn't automatically integrated into the school meal system, except for cases where students require medications like epipens for their food allergies. In such instances, these students are automatically entered into the school meal system.
However, for all other students with food allergies, their allergy information is only incorporated into the meal system once a parent/guardian submits a signed Medical Statement to Request Special Meals to the school (see link below). After Child Nutrition Services receives and enters the Medical Statement with the specific allergen in their meal system, the student's allergy information becomes visible on the checkout screen when a student receives a meal. This serves as an alert for the Child Nutrition staff to carefully inspect the student's plate for potential allergens.
If your child requires a special diet provided daily by the school cafeteria, a Request for a Special Meal form must be filled out in English by a U.S. licensed physician, Physician's Assistant or Nurse Practitioner indicating the medical necessity and must be sent to Encinitas USD Child Nutrition Department. .
Please send all forms directly to Lea Bonelli, MS RDN, Child Nutrition Director via email lea.bonelli@eusd.net, mail or drop off with your school nurse.
Form to request special meals: English/Spanish
EUSD Child Nutrition Services tries to provide a variety of meals that meet the needs of each student in the district. Gluten free and vegetarian meals are offered throughout the week and can be found on the menu via designated symbols. This includes entrees like Bean & Cheese Pupusas (GF), Tamales (GF), and Yogurt & GF granola, Quesadillas, Grilled Cheese, etc. Some Gluten free entrées are gluten free without the bread/bun/tortilla/etc. Corn tortillas available upon request. We do not serve items that contain nuts, however, some items may be processed in facilities that also processes nuts and other allergens. We serve gluten free items but our kitchens are not gluten free facilities.