August 31, 2020
Dear HMS Families,
Please take some time to review the information below from Blair Currier, Yarmouth Director of Nutrition. Blair asks that families interested in home delivery for remote learning days contact the Nutrition Program for more information. You can connect directly with Blair if you have any questions.
Thanks very much,
Joan Adler and Tom McDowell
HMS Administrative Team
Yarmouth School Nutrition Program
at Frank Harrison Middle School
School Year 2020 - 2021
Welcome!
As always, the Yarmouth School Nutrition Program is committed to providing the students and staff of Harrison Middle School with fun, great tasting, healthy and affordable breakfasts and lunches every day. YSNP participates in a national program and our menus follow the latest scientific research in nutrition published every five years as the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” In the age of COVID-19 we follow the latest guidance from CDC and the Maine Department of Education. We strive to go above and beyond by connecting the cafeteria to the classroom and community. We also source as much as we can from nearby Maine farms. Details can be found on our menus located in the News section of the school web page.
We offer a delicious individually packaged breakfast every morning at the start of school featuring whole grain muffins, banana bread, bagels and cereal. Fresh fruit such as strawberries, bananas, orange wedges and apples. Orange juice and milk are optional. Teachers help students select their breakfast and it is delivered and eaten in the classroom. Cost is $2.00 and charged to the student’s account. For students that qualify for meal benefits breakfast is free.
At the start of the school year our lunch menu will offer three meal choices every day. We will always have at least one vegetarian choice. Similar to breakfast, teachers will help students with their lunch orders in the morning and these will be delivered individually packaged at lunch time. We have a rotation of bento-type meals with turkey, cheddar cheese, tuna, yogurt, hummus and even guacamole along with an egg salad sandwich on a whole grain croissant. Every day we have our popular sunbutter & jelly sandwich with string cheese. Sunbutter is a peanut-free spread, very similar to peanut butter and made from sunflower seeds. Pizza will also be available every week and as the year progresses will bring on more of our hot lunch options.
A school lunch is considered a “Meal Deal” in that five components are offered every day; protein, a whole grain item, fruit, vegetables and milk. However, students may prefer not to select all of them. Either a fruit or vegetable must be selected or they can choose both. Students are not required to take the milk option. The price of a student lunch is $3.25. If your child is bringing a lunch from home and would like a milk from school the cost is 50 cents.
In addition to our meals, students are also able to purchase “Smart Snacks” or a la carte items that have been specially formulated for schools. These have reduced sodium, fat and sugar and the first ingredient is a fruit, vegetable, dairy product, whole grain or protein. These include baked chips, whole grain graham crackers, ice cream, pudding and juice beverages. Like all snacks these are intended to be supplementary to the meal or eaten at a later time in the day. At the start of the school year we will not have these available, but will plan to phase them in over time. These options will be announced on our menus posted in the school News page. We strongly encourage you to create a meal spending budget with your child so that there are no surprises. Most snacks cost between 75 cents and $1.50, we also have Ricker Hill Orchards cider for $2.00 and Naked Juice for $2.25. All parents can monitor the details of their child’s daily spending online at no cost through PayPam.com.
We encourage all parents to activate their PayPams.com account at the start of school regardless of whether they plan to use a credit card to pay for meals. This will allow you to monitor your child’s account and receive email notifications when funds are low. Meal transactions are not visible until this account is activated. This service is available at no cost.
We accept multiple forms of meal payments and this year we would prefer you to use your credit card online at PayPams.com. There is a fee of $1.95 per online payment. We will still accept checks made out to “Yarmouth School Nutrition Program” and these should be mailed to Frank Harrison Middle School, Attn: Yarmouth School Nutrition Program, 220 McCartney Street, Yarmouth, ME 04096. We are not responsible for money sent into school with your child.
If your family qualifies for federal assistance, such as SNAP or TANF benefits, your household is automatically eligible for free meals. If you don’t receive these benefits, but your household income qualifies you for free or reduced price meals then we welcome your application. Should your household income go down at any time throughout the school year please consider applying. Applications can be picked up at the school office or found on the school webpage.
During COVID-19 if your student is doing remote learning, we will be offering meals for these students through home delivery. If you are interested in this service please contact us for more information.
When a student’s account balance is less than $10.00 we kindly inform them that their balance is getting low. Students are not allowed to purchase a la carte (snack items) without funds in their account. If funds do run out, students should bring meals from home until their account is replenished. However, we do understand that mistakes happen and we will never let a child go hungry. Students will not be allowed to purchase a snack, but they will be able to get a nutritious meal that we must still charge to their account. To make sure that you are aware of the situation, you will receive an email from the school office letting you know that your child no longer has funds in his/her account. This is to ensure that your meal account does not continue to go into arrears. So please, sign up for the free email notification from PayPams.com or contact us if you are unsure about your balance. We do not staff our department to send out payment reminders.
We continually strive to improve our service of providing fun, healthy and affordable meals. Please contact us with any questions and/or feedback that you may have about our program. Research continues to support that students who eat nutritious meals perform better academically. We take our job very seriously so that students are prepared for the high level of learning that happens in the classroom. Thank you for trusting us with your child’s nutrition!
Kathy Latham Blair Currier, SNS
Manager, HMS Cafeteria Director of School Nutrition
846-9314 846-2323
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.