This change is due to a new California state mandate.

Breakfast and lunch are free for everyone. Families no longer need to be income qualified.

Yes, it is still important to complete the "Free & Reduced" Lunch Application if you feel you may qualify. This allows the school district to accurately calculate the students that qualify and provides some individual benefits to those students and families.

The new vendor is The LunchMaster. 

No, you do not have to place an order. The LunchMaster gives school districts the option of placing orders or not. At this time, RUSD is not asking families to place an order in an effort to simplify the process for families. We will monitor usage and adjust accordingly.The school district is monitoring the pattern of consumption and adjusting orders based on the number of students that request the food. Keep in mind that this is different from the way the system operated in the past because the school must be prepared to serve a meal to any student that asks for a meal. This means that the school will likely need to over-order. For example, even if RUSD was using an ordering system and asking families to order each day, we still need to be prepared to serve anyone that asks for a meal. Therefore, we would not be able to order exactly the number of meals ordered by families.

Yes, any perishable breakfast or lunch food items that are not eaten throughout the week will be donated each Friday. The items are picked up by an organization and distributed to places in need. There is also an available “share table” where students can place the food they don’t eat and other students can freely take what they’d like.

Yes, the monthly menu will usually be published the week before the month begins so that families can look at the options and decide if they would like to pack a lunch or ask for the LunchMaster meal. RUSD is at the mercy of The LunchMaster for timing when the menu is ready to be posted. Here is the link.

Yes, the food will follow federal nutrition guidelines. This also means that all of the elements of the meal must be served to a student in order to follow the guidelines.  For example, if a federally approved meal has a grain, protein, fruit, vegetable, and milk, then all of those elements must be served.

• Reed Elementary at 8:05 AM

• Bel Aire at 7:30 AM

• DelMar at 8:00 AM

Ordering adjustments will continue to be made as the school year goes on and as the site notices which items the students are loving. For example, egg salad sandwiches were a big hit at Reed but not popular at Bel Aire. The burritos were loved at Bel Aire and Del Mar, and the sushi bowl was popular at Del Mar. Now that we know, orders can be adjusted.

Your best solution is to have a discussion with your kiddo about how your family expects them to handle it. For example, “Kim, we made lunch for you to eat today at school. It looks like you saw the burrito and really wanted it. In our family, we expect you to … “ The federal guidelines for a school district say that if a student asks for a meal, we are to serve it to them.

Yes, our Chief Business Official, Carlos Estrella, has searched for other solutions. He has an agreement from another local vendor to provide a federally compliant meal, if needed. This vendor might also be willing to help us provide meals for field trips.