Columbia Heights Public Schools
Food Services Update
Free/Reduced Lunch Application
Educational Benefits help in the following ways:
- Qualifying students receive lunch at no cost (breakfast is free for all students).
Families receive reduced rates for middle and high school activities.
Helps District secure compensatory funds to reduce class sizes, provide counseling and social work services, and hire media specialists and educational assistants.
Families receive reduced tuition for early childhood programming.
Students receive reduced AP testing and college application fees.
Provides scholarships for students to attend early childhood programming.
Allows the District to receive Title 1 funds for academic support.
Free Meals for Students Age 18 and Younger
CHPS offers FREE meals to all students ages 18 and younger through funding made available by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
The District began delivering meal kits to students on the first day of school to provide food during the Heights from Home learning model this fall. Each student’s meal kit includes five (5) breakfasts (entrée, fruit, milk) and five (5) lunches (entrée, fruit, vegetable, milk).
Meals will be free as long as funding is available. Families interested in having meals delivered need to fill out both the Application for Educational Benefits (free/reduced lunch) and the Meal Delivery Application. If families opted out and would like to receive these free meal kits, they should fill out a new meal delivery survey on the Meal Resources website. The request for meal delivery must be filled out by Monday, Sept. 28 to receive meal delivery the week of Oct. 5. Delivery may be delayed for requests received after Sept. 28 to allowed additional stops to be added to the bus routes.
How Food Services Benefits ALL
The more meals CHPS produces, the cheaper each meal is to produce. This means the District can spend more money on better quality ingredients. This matters for food justice and racial equity since the vast majority of students who participate in the district's school meal program are students of color whose families qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on their income level. Every meal served helps CHPS provide students with better meals.
The more students CHPS serves, the more food services staff the District needs to employ. Participating in the program can help prevent CHPS from laying off cafeteria workers or cutting their hours.
School meals can be a source of comfort and excitement for students who are at home doing remote learning. These meals also can save families/caregivers time and money.
Columbia Heights Public Schools Receives Farm to School Grant
Columbia Heights Public Schools received a Rapid Response Farm to School Grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture valued at nearly $5,000. The District will use it to purchase local produce from The Good Acre through Dec. 31. Food Services Manager Maggie Maggio applied for the grant this past summer.
The Food Services Department will use the grant funds to purchase a variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the state’s growing season through an ongoing partnership with local food hub, The Good Acre.
Beginning the week of Sept. 28, local foods will be included in meal deliveries. In addition to what we buy from The Good Acre the apples included will also be from Pine Tree Apple Orchard in White Bear Lake. Pears from Blooming Heights were included in some meals in September and more Blooming Heights produce will be included as available.
About Us
All Belong, All Succeed
Email: News@colheights.k12.mn.us
Website: https://www.colheights.k12.mn.us/
Location: 1440 49th Avenue Northeast, Columbia Heights, MN, USA
Phone: 763-528-4500
Facebook: facebook.com/chpsisd13
Twitter: @CHPSisd13