Remember:

Each free meal consists of USDA approved components that are nutritionally balanced. Students have choices, but the meal must remain nutritionally balanced to qualify as free. Therefore, students must choose a minimum of 3 of the 5 components offered for the meal to remain free.

Students who choose items a la carte (items chosen apart from the multi-component meal, or as a supplement to a meal brought from home) will need to pay for those a la carte items. One carton of milk is considered part of the free meal for 2024-2025 and there will be no a la carte charge. Additional cartons of milk will be charged at 50 cents each.

Example A: A student chooses only a slice of pizza. The student would need to choose the slice of pizza AND the other nutritionally balanced components, or the student will be charged for the a la carte slice of pizza.

Example B: A student comes to school with a meal from home and chooses an a la carte piece of fruit at school. The piece of fruit, as it is not part of a school-provided nutritionally balanced meal, will be charged to the student.