School Lunch

2024-2025 Food Service Information

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that provided free breakfast and lunch meals to Greendale School District students, as part of the USDA’s COVID-19 relief effort for schools, has ended. Greendale Schools will resume charging students and families for meals starting September 1, 2022.  We encourage families to fill out the application for free and reduced-price meals to determine if they qualify.

The 2024-2025 meal applications is now available.  Details are shared here.  A new application must be completed and submitted each year.

Families may begin adding funds to their child’s meal account through this link: https://myschoolbucks.com. They may also send a check made payable to GSD to their child’s school office. If you have any further questions, please contact the Food Service Director, Cindy Kacmarcik, at (414) 423-0110 x 4314 or email cindy.kacmarcik@greendaleschools.org

If your child ended the 2023-2024 school year with a negative lunch balance, you are responsible for the payment of that balance. 

As a reminder, free meals are defined as reimbursable meals by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instructions. A reimbursable meal is a single-priced meal unit that offers all USDA daily required meal pattern components for each age/grade group served in the minimum required amounts. If your child brings a cold lunch, milk is not free. Milk is charged at $0.50 per carton. 

If you are experiencing financial hardship or your child would normally qualify for free/reduced meals, please fill out a free/reduced meal application online via our district website under the "School Lunch " tab.

Free & Reduced Meal Program

APPLY FOR THE FREE & REDUCED MEAL PROGRAM.

Greendale Nutrition Services provides a variety of healthy choices to students.  Menus are planned based on the guidelines prescribed by The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.  Choices include more fruits & vegetables, whole grains, and low sodium/lower saturated fat entrees.  Students are required to choose at least 3 of 5 meal components including a fruit or vegetable for the Meal Deal.  Students who choose to not build a meal based on these guidelines will be charged a la carte prices for their choices.

All of our a la carte items offered to students meet the nutrition standards established by The Smart Snacks in Schools and The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.  A complete list of a la carte items and prices is currently being updated and will be available soon.

Greendale's service style is called Offer versus Serve or OVS.  Offer versus Serve is a concept that applies to menu planning and meal service.  OVS allows students to decline some food offered in a reimbursable lunch or breakfast.  The goals of OVS are to reduce food waste and to permit students to choose the food they want to eat.  Since students may choose fewer selections under OVS, guidance is provided on what constitutes a reimbursable lunch and breakfast.  A food item is a specific food offered within the three food components.  The Five components of a healthy lunch are offered: milk, fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains with strict limits on saturated fat and portion size. Under OVS, the student must select three food items, including at least 1/2-cup of fruits or vegetables or a combination of fruits and vegetables, to have a reimbursable meal.  Under OVS, all students must be allowed to decline up to 2 components.