Quality nutrition, quality service, quality food

Did you know that students who are well nourished are shown to have increased problem-solving abilities, better memory, stronger verbal fluency and more creativity?

That is a key reason why the City School District of Albany makes every effort to provide students with nutritious and tasty meals during the hours they are in school. This includes breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon and, in some schools, an after-school snack serving during extended-day programs.

Nutri-Cafe provides complete nutritional, allergen information about all menu items

Whitsons Culinary Group, the City School District of Albany's food-service provider, provides a complete listing of nutritional information and allergen information for all the items on our school menus. Check out the Nutri-Cafe on the Whitsons Web site.

Payment policies

Each student is expected to pay for meals with cash or a debit account they may set up. The Board of Education encourages parents to assume the responsibility of paying for those meals. If parents are unable to pay, the board encourages them to complete the necessary paperwork for free or reduced-price meals (click here for more information).

The board also recognizes that a student occasionally comes to school without breakfast or lunch money and expects those students be treated with dignity and compassion. The board adopted guidelines for those students. Click here to read the full policy.

District fare includes local produce, hormone-free chicken and milk

Whitson's Culinary Group provides breakfast and lunch to all district schools.

Whitson's buys its produce locally whenever it is available. All milk and chicken products it offers are antibiotic- and hormone-free. Also, bread and bread products are 100 percent whole grain and contain no high-fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils.

In addition:

• Menus are subject to change

• Prepaid meals are encouraged

• Low-fat, chocolate and unflavored milk is available daily

• We will offer a turkey equivalent when pork products are served

For more information, contact Stephanie Lasher, Whitson's onsite food service director, at 475-6644 or lashers@whitsons.com.

Cafeterias post 'right to know' food allergy alerts

Food allergies can be life-threatening. To minimize the chance of accidental exposure to a food that may trigger an allergic reaction, the district's new food-service provider posts "right to know" information in every school cafeteria. The information -- kept in a binder -- lists ingredients in school food that are common causes of food allergies. They include:

• Milk and milk products

• Egg and egg products

• Peanut and peanut products

• Tree nut and tree nut products

• Soy and soy products

• Fish and fish products

• Shellfish and shellfish products

The binder does not list manufacturers who also may process allergens (like peanuts) in other products they produce. However, Whitson's requires its manufacturers to have practices in place that minimize the possibility accidental contamination from other products during the manufacturing process.

Any student with a severe food allergy should NOT assume that a food is safe to eat and should always ask before eating cafeteria food. That student's parent or guardian should contact the food-service manager to discuss dietary needs and restrictions. Product specifications are subject to change and manufacturers are not required by law to provide updated ingredient declarations to Whitson's.

For more information, contact Stephanie Lasher, Whitson's onsite food service director, at 475-6644 or lashers@whitsons.com.

Breakfast and lunch prices

Breakfast is $1.50 at all schools, and lunch is $2.25 at elementary schools and $2.50 in middle school and high school.

However, if your family qualified for the free or reduced-price meal program, your child can receive breakfast and lunch free or for as little as 25 cents for each meal.

Information regarding the use of pork and school meals
Food Services serves turkey-based cold cuts. The bologna, ham and salami are made from turkey; no pork products are added. Hot dogs are 100 percent beef. When pork is served we will offer a turkey equivalent as an alternate. When we serve real ham or hots with pork it will be reflected as such on the menu.

All hamburger and hot dog buns also are 100 percent whole grain.

Fast facts about our Food Service program
The City School District of Albany services approximately 2,000 breakfast and nearly 7,000 lunches every day.
 

The program is entirely self-supporting, meaning that the cost is fully covered by a combination of student fees and a la carte sales.
 

The following schools prepare their food in-house:

• Albany High School

• Albany School of Humanities (ASH)

• Arbor Hill Elementary School

• Giffen Memorial Elementary School

• Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School

• William S. Hackett Middle School

The following schools do not have their own kitchens. Students are served pre-packaged meals that are cooked each morning at Philip Livingston Magnet Academy.

• Abrookin Vo-Tech Center

• Adult Learning Center

• Delaware Community School

• Eagle Point Elementary School

• Montessori Magnet School

• New Scotland Elementary School

• North Albany Academy

• Philip J. Schuyler Achievement Academy

• Pine Hills Elementary School

• Sheridan Preparatory Academy

• Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology