School Meals

cmes breakfast and lunch - food programs

FOOD PROGRAMS: BREAKFAST AND LUNCH

Catered lunches and breakfasts are provided for all children of Cornerstone. Breakfast costs $2.25; lunch costs $3.75. Seasonal and nutritious, the menu for lunch includes a grain, protein, fruit, and vegetable, as well as milk. Breakfast includes a bagel or cereal, a source of protein, fruit and milk. Monthly menus are posted for parents to view. (Note that there are occasional unforeseen changes to the menu as decided by the caterer.) Guides/teachers encourage children to try all food as a way of building an understanding of nutrition and open-mindedness. Dairy varieties of milk are provided during breakfast/lunch and children may also choose to drink water. 

Your children may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. To apply, complete the Application for Educational Benefits Form following the instructions. Return your completed application to Cornerstone at your earliest convenience. A new application must be submitted each year. At public schools, your application also helps the school qualify for education funds and discounts. 

State funds help to pay for reduced-price school meals, so all students who are approved for either free or reduced-price school meals will receive school meals at no charge. State funds also help to pay for breakfasts for kindergarten students, so all participating kindergarten students receive breakfasts at no charge.

Regular Breakfast and Lunch Menus are posted on the website mid-month for the upcoming month and families may choose their order at that time.  Regular and Vegetarian options are included on the menu. The allergen 4-week cycle menu is also posted on the website. Families requesting an allergen meal option for a child must also complete the Special Dietary Statement for Allergen Meals and return to Cornerstone with the request.

***Due to staffing and food preparation considerations, families will need to decide on regular, vegetarian, or special diet lunches on a monthly basis, and are not permitted to do so on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis. 

Families with children at Cornerstone Elementary may choose to bring lunch from home. However, catering to food likes and dislikes on a day-to-day basis can promote increasingly narrow options for healthy and nutritious eating in children. If a child does bring a lunch from home, it must include milk and all other nutritional requirements recognized by the USDA and follow the School’s no sugar and no peanuts policies.  Junk-food, i.e. chips and other processed foods and foods that do not follow the no sugar, no peanut policies will be kept in the office and sent home with a note at the end of the day. We cannot heat or reheat lunches brought from home.

***Please note: if your child has specific food allergies or dietary needs, please let the staff know so that we can arrange for a safe and edible and tasty meal. 

FOOD POLICY: BREAKFAST, LUNCH, & SNACKS

Healthy and nutritious food is a priority at Cornerstone School. The school has a “no sugar” and a “no nut” policy. Children are not offered products at school that contain refined sugar, nor will they be served items containing nuts. Lunches sent from home must comply with these policies.

Children are offered breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day. Water is available in the environments and common areas. An information sheet on children's allergies and dietary restrictions will be posted in the kitchen and spaces where children eat.

We work with our caterer, CKC Good Foods, to provide healthy lunches and breakfasts for the children each day. Menus are planned on a monthly basis and distributed to parents in advance. Breakfast and lunch comply with USDA requirements; parents who choose to provide food for their children must meet these requirements as well (including milk).

Children in CMS receive lunch and breakfast as part of their tuition. Children in Cornerstone Elementary receive lunch and breakfast for free if they qualify for free lunch or a reduced cost if they qualify for reduced lunch. Families of children who do not qualify may purchase lunch for $3.75 and breakfast for $2.25 per day. Children will not be denied a meal for lack of funds.

All children wash their hands before eating meals or snacks. Food preparation tools, flatware, glassware, and dishes are washed and sanitized between each use.

FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH

Cornerstone Montessori School participates in the Children and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Education. Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School participates in the School Nutrition Program (SNP) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Education.

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; or

(2) fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.