Faith Family Academy

Dear Faith Family Academy Parents,

As we begin a new school year, our students’ well-being and success remain the top priorities at Faith Family Academy. Our commitment includes ensuring your child(ren) can access nutritious food at school and other places in our community. Starting August 6, 2021, Faith Family Academy will operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) for the 2021-2022 school year. Through NSLP and SBP, no-cost meals are available for all enrolled students at our school.

In addition to NSLP and SBP, we are also operating an afterschool program, where participating students will also receive a nutritious meal.

We will serve meals in our campus cafeterias at scheduled meal times during school days. Faith Family Academy qualifies under the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) and will operate the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) for the 2021-2022 school year. These programs make all students enrolled in Faith Family Academy eligible for free meals.

In addition to school meals, your family may have access to access food through community organizations operating other federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). These programs can provide important support during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For information on school meal programs and other food assistance programs available in Texas, please see the attached Food Aid for Texas Families information sheet. You can determine your income eligibility for food programs at:

https://squaremeals.org/PublicResources/WhatProgra...

Sincerely,

Greg Mozley

Executive Director of Food Services

Student Health Advisory Council Meeting Dates

The Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) provides an efficient, effective structure for creating and implementing an age-appropriate health education program and early intervention and prevention strategies for our children and community. Every parent and community member is encouraged to participate in the SHAC.

Your input is needed. The SHAC is scheduled to meet on the following dates:

September 7, 2022

November 30, 2022

February 15, 2023

April 19, 2023

Student Nutrition/Wellness Policy

Approved by School Board last on September 19, 2014 and renewed in 2017. The policy will be rewritten in 2023.

Purpose and Goal:

The link between nutrition and learning is well documented. Healthy eating patterns are essential for students to achieve their full academic potential, full physical and mental growth, and lifelong health and well-being. Healthy eating is linked to reduced risk for mortality and development of many chronic diseases as adults. Schools have a responsibility to help students and the staff, establish and maintain lifelong, healthy eating patterns. Well-planned and well implemented school nutrition programs have been shown to positively influence students eating habits.

All students shall possess the knowledge and skills necessary to make nutritious and enjoyable food choices for a lifetime. In addition, staff is encouraged to model healthy eating and physical activity as a valuable part of daily life. Faith Family Academy shall prepare, adopt, and implement a comprehensive plan to encourage healthy eating and physical activity. This plan shall make effective use of school and community resources and equitably serve the needs and interests of all students and staff, taking into consideration differences in cultural norms.

Component 1: A Commitment to Nutrition and Physical Activity

• A.Faith Family Academy Board of Trustees shall appoint a School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC). One of its missions shall be to address nutrition and physical activity issues and to develop, implement, and evaluate guidelines that support a healthy school nutrition environment.
• B.This committee shall offer revisions to these guidelines annually or more often if necessary.
• C.Principals will address concerns such as kinds of foods available on their campus, sufficient mealtime, nutrition education, and physical activity.
• D.Nutrition education shall be integrated across the curriculum and physical activity will be encouraged.
• E.The school food service staff will participate in making decisions and guidelines that will affect the school nutrition environment.

Component 2: Quality School Meals

• A.Faith Family Academy will offer breakfast and lunch programs. Students and staff are highly encouraged to promote and participate in these programs.
• B.School food service staff will be properly qualified according to current professional standards. Food service staff will regularly participate in professional development activities.
• C.Food safety will be a key part of the school foodservice operation.
• D.Menus will meet the nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Agriculture, conforming to good menu planning principles, and featuring a variety of healthy choices that are tasty, attractive, of excellent quality, and are served at the proper temperature.
• E.Students will be given the opportunity to provide input on local, cultural, and ethnic favorites.
• F.School personnel, along with parents, will encourage students to choose and consume full meals. Positive nutrition statements will be provided to students.

Component 3: Other Healthy Food Options

• A.The SHAC will develop and recommend to the administration, guidelines on nutrition standards for food and beverages offered through parties, celebrations, social events, and any school functions (including concession stands at sporting and academic events) in compliance with Smart Snacks.
• B.No foods or beverages other than those provided through the school food service department may be made available to students at any time except for birthday celebrations (parent initiated) and three celebrations/party days per year to be determined by campus personnel. Parents may provide snacks purchased from a grocery store, bakery or School Food Service for their child’s class for his/her birthday. If parents bring in food from the outside, they must notify the teacher AND supply a list of ingredients to the campus nurse one week in advance of the birthday. This is due to food allergies that students may have. The form is provided in the front office. Parents have the option of purchasing birthday snacks from the School Food Service; snacks follow the Smart Snack Guidance.
• C.School staff shall not use food as a reward for student’s accomplishments.
• D.The withholding of food as punishment for students is prohibited. For example, restricting a child’s selection of flavored milk at mealtime due to misbehavior in the classroom is prohibited.
• E.The school district will provide nutritional information to parents that will encourage parents to provide safe and nutritious foods for their children.
• F.Follow Smart Snack Guidance for all fundraising activities.

Component 4: Pleasant Eating Experiences

• A.Drinkable water will be available for students at meals and throughout the day.
• B.A short snack-free recess for elementary campuses is encouraged to be scheduled sometime before lunch so that children will come to lunch less distracted and ready to eat.
• C.School personnel will assist all students in developing the healthy practice of washing hands before eating.
• D.The school should not schedule tutoring, pep rallies, assemblies, club/organizations meetings, fire drills or other activities during meal times.
• E.Adequate time to eat in a pleasant dining environment should be provided. The minimum eating time for each child after being served will be 10 minutes for breakfast and 20 minutes for lunch.
• F.Schools will encourage socializing among students, and between students and adults. Adults will properly supervise dining rooms and serve as role models to students by demonstrating proper conduct and voice level. Parents are highly encouraged to dine with students in the cafeteria.
• G.Creative and innovative methods will be used to keep noise levels appropriate.

Component 5: Nutrition Education

• A.Faith Family Academy will follow health education curriculum standards and guidelines as stated by the Texas Education Agency. Schools will link nutrition education activities with the coordinated school health program.
• B.Students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12th grade will receive nutrition education that is interactive and teaches the skills they need to adopt healthy eating behaviors. Teachers are encouraged to integrate nutrition education into core curriculum areas such as math, science, social studies, and language arts as applicable.
• C.Nutrition education will be offered in the school dining room and in the classroom, with coordination between school foodservice staff and teachers
• D.Teachers can display posters, videos, websites, etc. on nutrition topics.
• E.Faith Family Academy campuses will participate in nutrition education activities and promotions that involve students, parents, and the community. The school nutrition team responsible for these activities will be composed of Child Nutrition service staff, student services staff, school nurses, health teachers, PTSO and physical education coaches.

Component 6: Marketing

• A.Students will receive positive, motivating messages, both verbal and non-verbal, about healthy eating and physical activity throughout the school setting. All school personnel will help reinforce these positive messages.
• B.Schools will consider student’s needs in planning for a healthy school nutrition environment. Students will be asked for input and feedback and attention will be given to their comments.
• C.Schools will promote healthy food choices and will not allow advertising that promotes less nutritious food choices.
• D.Healthy eating and physical activity will be actively promoted to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community at registration, PTSO meetings, Open Houses, Health Fairs, teacher in-services, etc.

Component 7: Implementation

• A.The SHAC shall be composed of parents, students, and school district staff. Each campus principal shall select parents, teachers, and a nurse, a representative from the cafeteria staff, public representatives, and students to serve on the SHAC.
• B.The SHAC members from each campus will conduct a review of their respective campuses in the fall semester of each year to identify areas for improvement and report their finding to the campus principal and develop with him/her a plan of actions for improvement.
• C.The SHAC will meet a minimum of 4 times per school year.

Faith Family Academy Lunch Account Charge Policy and Student Account Reconciliation

Faith Family Academy will only accept cash for meal payments. Any cafeteria manager may accept meal payments on campus. Meal payments may be made in advance or at the point of service. Negative balances greater than $5.00 are not allowed. Students with high negative balances may be offered lower cost meals that comply with the standards of the NSLP, until their balances fall below $5.00. Students with high negative balances will not be allowed to purchase snack bar items.

When a student’s meal account exceeds $5.00, the following efforts will be made to collect:

• 1.The student will be told the amount he or she owes and given two school days to make payment.
• 2.If payment is not made within two school days, the student’s parent or guardian will be notified.
• 3.The student should be offered only lower cost meals that comply with the standards of the NSLP.
• 4.If high negative balances are not paid within five school days, a letter will be sent to the administration and the student’s principal will be informed.
• 5.The principal will contact the student’s parent or guardian to reconcile his or her account.
• 6.Students with high negative balances may experience processing delays for school services.

Negative Student Account Balances & Bad Debt

The Food Services Director will work with campus administration and make every effort to collect negative lunch balances. When the Food Services Director determines that a negative account is uncollectible, he or she will debit the amount to Bad Debt. At the end of each school year, but before the end of the fiscal year, the Food Services Director will report the total amount of Bad Debt to the Business Manager. The Business Manager will reimburse the NSLP for the full amount of the bad debt. Reimbursement will not come from NSLP fund accounts but may come from the school’s general fund.

Positive Student Account Balances & Refunds

Whenever a student withdraws and leaves a positive balance, the Food Services Director will notify the Business Manager of the amount and request a check be mailed to the parent or guardian of record. The Food Services Director will provide all necessary mailing information to the Business Manager so that the check can be processed within ten business days. The Food Service Director will be responsible for refunding all positive amounts and he or she will make every effort to contact the parent or guardian. When the Food Services Director deems that the parent or guardian cannot be contacted, he or she will request a check from the Business Manager payable to the Texas Comptroller for the full amount of the refund. The Food Services Director will forward the check with all necessary information to be posted on the Texas Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Website.

Faith Family Academy Lunch Account Charge Policy for Adults

Adults may purchase meals from the cafeteria. All meals will be purchased at the adult prices determined by the Food Services Director. Adults may pay for their meals with cash at the point of service, or they may add the charges to their lunch accounts. All FFA employees will submit a Payroll Deduction Authorization form to the payroll department to allow payroll deductions for their lunch charges. At the end of each month, the Food Services Director will submit all negative adult balances to the payroll department with the employees’ names. The payroll department will deduct the respective amounts from the employees’ monthly payroll.

Employees who work in the operational departments of FFA may eat a reimbursable meal each day they work and charge the amounts to their accounts. At the end of each month the Food Services Director will submit those amounts with their respective names to the payroll department. The payroll department will submit the total amount each month to the Business Manager. The Business Manager will credit the NSLP food account with the total amount of those employee meals.

Negative Adult Account Balances & Bad Debt

Whenever an employee is terminated and leaves a negative balance in his or her lunch account, the Food Services Officer will make every effort to collect the amount. When the Food Services Director determines that the amount is uncollectible, he or she will debit the amount to Bad Debt. At the end of each school year, but before the end of the fiscal year, the Food Services Director will report the total amount of Bad Debt to the Business Manager. The Business Manager will reimburse the NSLP for the full amount of the bad debt. Reimbursement will not come from NSLP fund accounts but may come from the school’s general fund.

Positive Adult Account Balances & Refunds

Whenever an employee is terminated and leaves a positive balance, the Food Services Director will notify the Business Manager of the amount and request a check be mailed to the employee’s home of record. The Food Services Director will provide all necessary mailing information to the Business Manager so that the check can be processed within ten business days. The Food Service Director will be responsible for refunding all positive amounts and he or she will make every effort to contact the former employee. When the Food Services Director deems that the former employee cannot be contacted, he or she will request a check from the Business Manager payable to the Texas Comptroller for the full amount of the refund. The Food Services Director will forward the check with all necessary information to be posted on the Texas Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Website.

Civil Rights Awareness

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