School Nutrition

The NCS Nutrition Program

The NCS Nutrition Program utilizes the system of monthly pre-ordered lunches for grades K-5 and daily lunch options for grades 6-12, as well as a daily grab and go breakfast option for all grades. You will be notified by email when the LunchWorks ordering system is open for the following month. Any changes to planned menu will be updated above when necessary.

Please see the attached resources below for information on breakfast and lunch menu options and schedules, allergen information, meal benefit forms, and policies and procedures.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please reach out to the building specific site coordinator for more information.

Primary and Intermediate School (K-5): jennifer.bigham@ncs.k12.de.us

Junior High School (6-8): rachel.golla@ncs.k12.de.us

High School (9-12): jessica.lawhorn@ncs.k12.de.us

School Nutrition Menus and Downloads

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Newark Charter Breakfast and Lunch for K-12th grade:

The Meal Program at Newark Charter School is committed to providing well-balanced meals that contribute to the health and well-being of our students.  We believe nutrition influences a student’s development, lifelong health, and potential for learning.  The Meal Program provides lunch and breakfast for all of the grades that we serve (Kindergarten thru 12th grade).  The program is managed in accordance with the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program (NSLBP), policies established by the NCS Administration, the Department of Health, and the Delaware Department of Education.

Meal Prices:

Breakfast:

(includes one milk)

K-12th grade Breakfast       $2.25                                    

Reduced Price Breakfast *     $0.20                                    

Free Breakfast *                      $0.00

Adult Breakfast                   $2.75

Lunch:

(includes one milk)

K-8th grade Lunch:            $3.25

9th thru 12th grade Lunch:     $3.50

Reduced Price Lunch *         $0.40

Free Lunch *                            $0.00

Adult Lunch                         $4.50

A la Carte **

Milk                        $0.50

Frozen Treats $1.00 (Available at HS daily through Lunchworks account, JRHS Wednesdays CASH ONLY, not available at Meece Campus)

* Based upon Eligibility

** Purchases of A La Carte items are NOT included in the free/reduced meal program and will be charged to your student’s Lunchworks account.

Newark Charter Breakfast for K-12th grade:

We offer students the opportunity to purchase a grab and go style breakfast every morning. The breakfast will be based on the National School Breakfast programs nutritional guidelines.

Breakfast will not have pre-order option for any grade (as the K-5 lunch is). Students will be able to receive a breakfast daily upon entering the school if needed.  Parents will receive notification that your student purchased a breakfast and that payment needs to be submitted. 

Parents that plan on having their students frequently buy breakfast can add extra money to their students account on lunchworks in order to offset the charges coming in.

If you do not want your students to purchase breakfast an email or letter needs to be sent to Anna Parks the Director of School Nutrition (anna.parks@ncs.k12.de.us) requesting that NCS is not to provide a breakfast to your student(s).  NCS will not turn away any student that wishes to purchase a breakfast unless there is a note on file from a parent or guardian.

Ordering online for K-5 Lunch and a la cart milk

Students in K-5 must pre-order their lunches and a la cart milk during the open ordering period.  Parent(s)/guardians may choose to either order their students meals for the month online or by hard copy order forms.  If you chose to order online you will log on to the website and use the login and password provided (instruction enclosed).  If you order manually via the order form, please provide the order form along with a hard copy of the menu.  On the menu calendar, circle the days your students would like to buy lunch or milk and write the students name in that day on the menu calendar.  If you have multiple children, please provide a separate menu calendar for each child.  All forms should be turned into the office by the deadline given.  Orders received after the deadline will not be accepted.

Ordering for 6th thru l2th grade Lunch

Students in 6th thru 12th   grade will not pre-order their meal or a la cart milk.  They will have the opportunity to choose their meal every day.  Parents must have their students account pre-loaded with money to pay for the lunch as students will not be able to pay with cash in the lunch line. 

Ordering and Payment Online

Newark Charter School offers a convenient way for parents to order and pay for their students’ meals.  While we continue to accept checks as payment on student meal accounts, we encourage parents to take advantage of the online payment system in Lunchworks on the menu bar.  This ordering and payment method is the safest as you will not need to send payments to school with your student.  It will not get lost or forgotten.  Once an account is set up on the lunchworks website, you will be able to view your students purchasing history and account balance due each month.  The website is secure and easy to use.  Please see the menu item listed as Lunchworks on our school website for more information and detailed instructions on setting up an online account.

Payment by Check/Cash

The family is required to provide the payment to the office with both the order from and menu calendar form by the required deadline.  Checks should be made payable to Newark Charter School.  Checks/ cash payments should be placed in an envelope with the following information:  student name, dollar amount enclosed, and the student’s homeroom number.

One check can be used for more than one child’s order.  Please indicate the names of all the children on the envelope.  Any checks that are returned from the bank with non-sufficient funds, closed account, etc. must be settled immediately.  Please see the returned check policy below. The school is not responsible for lost, stolen, or money used miscellaneously to purchase items other than meals by the student.

Meal Benefit Forms

Every school year families are offered the opportunity to apply for federal assistance which may result in free or reduced priced meals. Children from families with incomes at or below the 130% of the poverty level are eligible for free lunch meals. Children from families with incomes between 130% and 185% of the poverty level are eligible for reduced priced lunch meals.

Meal benefit forms for free and reduced meals for the current school year will be mailed home prior to the start of the school year. Extra meal benefit forms will be available in the main office of all three school buildings, as well as the school’s website. A new meal benefit form must be completed each school year. Please only complete one meal benefit from per household using blue or black ink pen. If your student(s) received free or reduced meal benefits last school year, you are still required to submit another meal benefit form for the current school year.

Returned Check Policy

Any Check returned for insufficient funds, closed accounts, etc. must be settled immediately with the school. The lunches that were ordered with the check in question may be canceled if settlement is not completed by the first day of the ordering month.

A letter will be sent to the parent(s)/guardian(s) informing them that the school received notice from the bank regarding a returned check and the amount of money due. Payment is required by cash or money order within three business days after the notice is sent.

If multiple checks are returned from one household, the school will not accept a check as payment for any school activity or program from the parent(s)/guardian(s) for a period of up to one year from the date that the obligation is paid. The Meal Program Coordinator will place a notification on the student’s account instructing the office to not accept checks as payment for meals. If a check is given as payment on a blocked account, the check will be returned to the parent and they will be reminded that payment must be received in the form of cash or money order.

Meal Account Refund Policy

Parent(s)/guardian(s) must submit all requests for refunds to the Meal Program Coordinator. If a student is absent or leaving early, the parent(s)/guardian(s) must notify Anna Parks 24 hours in advance so that we may cancel the lunch and the student will receive a meal credit. No cash refunds will be issued. All refunds will be in the form of a check. Parent(s)/guardian(s) will be required to complete the state of Delaware’s W9 vendor form in order for the refund to be processed through the state’s financial system in a timely manner.

Unpaid Account Balance

Once a student’s lunch account starts to accrue an owed balance, emails will be sent to notify the parent that the account has a balance due and needs to be paid in full. If the account continues to accrue a balance without payment, the parent will be contacted by phone to determine if a payment plan needs to be applied to the account and if there is something else that the school can do to assist the family in paying for their lunch account balance. The expectation is that the account will be paid in full by the end of the current school year and if it is not paid off the balance will roll over to the next school year. If a student is a graduating senior, and there are no siblings attending the school, the school may take additional measures (such as holding graduation tickets) until the parent pays the account in full or discusses other payment options with the School Nutrition Manager.

Newark Charter Schools nutrition program will not serve an alternative meal to any student, all students will receive the same meal option.

Special Dietary Needs

Please notify Rachel Golla at rachel.golla@ncs.k12.de.us if your student has a special dietary need. If your student is lactose intolerant, lactose-free milk will be provided. For students with food allergies, a doctor’s note detailing the allergy must be provided to the school on or before the first day of school. The school nurse will require an “Allergy Action Plan” form to be completed by the student’s doctor. If the student will be eating meals purchased from the school, the Department of Education also requires that a ‘Statement for Special Diet Prescription’ form be completed by the student’s doctor before a special diet is provided.

Severe food allergies will be handled by a collaborative effort between the school nurse and the meal program coordinator. Parents will have an opportunity to meet with these professionals to discuss the feeding of their student. Please contact the school nurse to discuss any special accommodations.

Communication

Any parent/guardian who may questions regarding the Meal Program, please contact:

Anna Parks

Director of School Nutrition Services

369-2001

Anna.Parks@ncs.k12.de.us

Any parent/guardian who believes that they have received a communication regarding the meal program that is not accurate must dispute in writing within three business days of the date the communication was sent via U.S. mail or Email to:

Jesse Wakeman

Chief of Operations

2001 Patriot Way

Newark, DE 19711

369-2001

Jesse.Wakeman@ncs.k12.de.us