Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can I check my student’s lunch account balance?

A: Account balances can be viewed on Skyward. Students can also ask for their account balance at lunch. To protect student privacy district employees will not communicate balances unless asked to do so by that student.

Q: Why am I receiving low balance emails and/or phone calls?

A: Email and phone low balance notifications are sent automatically, the specified parameters for the notifications cannot be altered for individuals. Notifications are sent to all payors with account balances that are less than $10. All students have a lunch account whether they eat lunch or not. You may receive this notification even if your account has not been active recently. Many negative or low balances have carried over from previous years. We strongly encourage keeping $10 in lunch accounts. If you feel you have received a notification in error please contact Roni Staplemann.

Q: How and when can I make payments?

A: Payments can be made online (link to skyward), in the office or at meal times. To decrease the amount of time students wait in line online payments are preferred. Online payments will cost the payor a service fee of $1.00.

Q: How much do I pay for my student’s meals at school?

A: Meal prices can be found here (link to pricing). In addition to school meals Beloit Turner offers a la carte items that can be purchased in addition to meals. A la carte pricing can be found here. The a la carte prices apply equally to paid, free, reduced and adult lunch codes.

Q: What happens when my student’s lunch account is negative?

A: Per district policy we allow purchases until an account is negative. Once a PAID or REDUCED account goes negative the student will be denied lunch and offered a peanut butter and jelly, milk and fruit or vegetable at a reduced cost. If a REDUCED or PAID account reaches negative $25.00 the student will not be provided a lunch and account charges will not be permitted. Students who receive FREE lunch will never be denied lunch, they will only be denied a la carte purchases if they have a negative account balance. In these situations meals may be taken from students and the alternative meal will be offered.

Q: Does my family qualify for free or reduced lunches?

A: FREE and REDUCED lunches are provided to families who meet qualifying Federal guidelines. You can apply for free or reduced lunch here (Spanish).

Q: My students qualify for free lunch, why is our account being charged?

A: Students with a FREE lunch code can take all meal components in the offered portion at no cost, however if this student decides to purchase a la carte items such as orange juice (cost $0.50) their account will be charged. Students are also required to take ½ cup of a fruit or vegetable and two other meal components to meet requirements of a Federal reimbursable meal. We offer a share cart where unwanted items can be placed as an alternative to throwing unwanted food away. Any item placed on the share cart is free for anyone else to take. If students refuse to take the required components they will be charged for a full price meal ($3.45). Cooks and servers remind students daily to take all components to meet requirements. An additional explanation may be that your student’s account was charged by mistake. If you feel there is an error in your account balance please contact the Roni Stapelmann.

Q: Why was my student’s lunch taken away? Why is food thrown away at all?

A: Per district policy we allow purchases until an account is negative. Once a PAID or REDUCED account goes negative the student will be denied lunch and offered a peanut butter and jelly, milk and fruit or vegetable at a reduced cost. If a REDUCED or PAID account reaches negative $25.00 the student will not be provided a lunch and account charges will not be permitted. Students who receive FREE lunch will never be denied lunch, they will only be denied a la carte purchases if they have a negative account balance. In these situations meals may be taken from students and the alternative meal will be offered. Any food item that is not prepackaged cannot be served again and has to been thrown away. We encourage students and parents to check their account balances daily so that students do not take food they cannot purchase. Students always have the option of bringing money daily to pay for lunch. Students who bring enough money to pay for their meal can choose from any available meal options, even if they have a negative account balance.

A: Students are also required to take ½ cup of a fruit or vegetable and two other meal components to meet requirements of a Federal reimbursable meal. We offer a share cart where unwanted items can be placed as an alternative to throwing unwanted food away. Any item placed on the share cart is free for anyone else to take. If students refuse to take the required components they will be charged for a full price meal ($3.45). Cooks and servers remind students daily to take all components to meet requirements.

Q: Why have there been so many changes to the lunch program this year?

A: In order to provide FREE and REDUCED meals to families we must comply with the Federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meal pattern requirements (Spanish). These requirements dictate portion sizes, calories, sodium, sugar content, and saturated fats. We are also required to serve whole grain products and must serve specific vegetables and fruits as well as meat and meat alternatives. There have been many changes to meet the new requirements.

Q: Does the district have to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)?

A: No, however more than 40% of our students in the district qualify for FREE and REDUCED lunch. Therefore, we feel it is very important to participate in this program in order to help a large percentage of our families provide nutritious meals for their children.

Q: My student has a food allergy, what can he/she eat?

A: All allergies need to be documented and returned to the school nurse Roxanne Hemmerling in the middle school office. Once allergies are documented accommodations can be discussed with Roni Stapelmann.

Q: What meal options are available for students?

A: Elementary schools offer one main line option daily with a variety of fruits and vegetables. The middle and high school students can choose from five different options most days. Options include pizza, hot sandwiches, sack lunches, prepackaged salads and a main line entree. High school menus can be found here and elementary menus are here.

Q: My student is still hungry after lunch, are students getting enough to eat?

A: Portion sizes are part of the NSLP meal pattern requirements (Spanish). Minimum servings must be offered daily as well as meet weekly requirements. For example we must offer a minimum of a one ounce equivalent of grains for middle school but a total of 8 ounce equivalents must be offered in a week. In addition to the nutrition requirements Beloit Turner participates in Offer V.S. Serve. which means that students are not required to take everything we offer. Students must take a ½ cup of fruit or vegetable and two other components. For example we offer a serving of Asian tangerine chicken over brown rice with mixed steamed oriental vegetables, raw snap peas, an egg roll, a whole pear, apple slices and a carton of milk. A student then serves themselves and may elect to take everything offered or only take the pear, chicken and milk. Students are not forced to take every item offered. Students who are still hungry can check the share cart for additional free food.

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