School Nutrition Program

Allison Daugherty, School Nutrition Program Director

84 School Street, Unity, ME 04988 ~ Phone: (207) 568-4607 ~ Fax: (207) 948-6209 ~ Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 Your Opinion Matters!

Thank you for the overwhelming response to the School Nutrition Program Surveys on chocolate milk and school breakfast.

Survey Results:

Chocolate milk survey results

Survey results breakfast

Return to this location for future opportunities to share your voice to improve the School Nutrition Program.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

Lunch for students in grades BR-12 will cost $ 2.50 per day. Students who qualify for reduced meal status pay 40 cents per day for lunch. Elementary students will now be offered two entree choices each day when practical. Middle and High School students are offered many options every day. A la carte items are available for purchase to students in grades 6-12. As part of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, students will be required to choose a fruit and/or vegetable component for breakfast and a fruit and vegetable for lunch to qualify as a reimbursable meal. Under Offer vs. Serve, students must take 3 out of 4 components at breakfast and 3 out of 5 components offered at lunch. These components are: Protein, Grain, Fruit, Vegetable and Milk. Therefore, some items offered (i.e. Breakfast Sandwich, protein & grain components) will qualify as two components.

Due to the rising cost of everything from food to health insurance, it becomes more challenging every year to raise sufficient income from the sale of meals, a la carte items and subsidy from the state and federal government to balance a budget. We continue to seek ways to maximize revenues and minimize expenses through sound fiscal management and the procurement of outside grant opportunities, without sacrificing quality meals for our students. 

Under Essential Programs and Services, the State of Maine provides additional funds for educational units based on the number of students eligible for "Free and Reduced Lunch". Grant money received also depends on the number of free and reduced lunch eligible students we have in each of our schools. Please complete and return a free and reduced lunch application. Only one application per family is necessary. All students will continue last year's eligibility status until Sept 30th or until a new application is received and approved prior to that date. A new application must be filled out for each school year.

Every day we offer a nutritious breakfast and delicious lunch to our students. Our meals exceed the nutrient standards set by the Federal Government. Menus are sent home with all elementary students and are also posted on the District's web site. School Nutrition Program staff members prepare and serve meals which exceed increasingly demanding national and local nutrition standards to safeguard the health and well-being of all our children as mandated by the National School Lunch Act.

The School Nutrition Program aims to promote healthy eating habits for life by providing nutritious meals to the student of RSU 3. All grains, pastas, and breads served to students are whole grain or whole wheat. There is also a fresh fruit and vegetable choice on the menu daily. Monthly menus reflect diversity and creativity to appeal to student appetites. In addition to the main meal, a variety of options for breakfast, lunch and ala carte are available to students at the junior high and high school levels.

There has been a significant increase in breakfast participation at the elementary, junior high school, and now high school through the success of the Universal Breakfast program. The program provides students in grades BR-12 with a healthy breakfast at no cost regardless of eligibility. Fresh fruits and vegetables have also been provided to all students as a snack in grades BR-8 at no cost through procurement of the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program grant.

We continue to explore new Farm to School relationships and recycling programs in conjunction with local farmers, Unity Barn Raisers and our own student group, Peace Jam, to provide children with fresh, locally grown produce when available. This year, we have partnered with some new local farms and will continue to work with local farms to

The SNP will again operate a Summer Feeding program, providing daily breakfast and lunch for children up to age 18 at no cost at the Mt. View Complex. This program is funded through the USDA Summer Food Service Program.

RSU 3 was chosen by Tufts University, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, to participate in a joint study with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care documenting our efforts to create a healthy school food environment. RSU 3 was one of three schools chosen in the Northeast out of 120 schools interviewed! At the end of the study, Tufts University produced a report that will be instrumental in catalyzing similar progressive changes in school food service across the country.

See the report: TUFTS UNIVERSITY/HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH REPORT  

Students are expected to pay for their meals in advance. You may send in money for school meals on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. All students will have a school nutrition account into which funds are deposited and may be used for any meal or ala carte item purchase. An electronic credit card option is available through PayPal. To use PayPal, click the link at the bottom of this page.

 If a check is returned due to insufficient funds, a $10.00 service charge will be added to the amount owed. This is the fee that the bank charges our account.

If at anytime during the year you have questions, please feel free to call me or the manager of the kitchen where your child attends school.

Note: Any payment with a debit/credit card will have paypal fees deducted from it. The fees are 30 cents per transaction and 2.9% of the amount paid.
For example: if you pay $20 by credit/debit card, there will be 88 cents in paypal fees and $19.12 will be added to your account.