November 3, 2021
Dear St. Mary’s Parents,
I hope your family had an enjoyable and restful Fall Break! I am contacting St. Mary’s parents this evening with exciting news from the USDA in regard to their partnership with state child nutrition agencies. This partnership has created flexibility in response to public health and administrative needs to promote nutritious meals for school-aged children. As a result, school food authorities are able to offer meals and/or snacks through the USDA National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option (SSO) during the regular 2021-2022 school year.
Through diligent work and the careful filing of several USDA waivers, St. Mary’s Preschool and Elementary School is now able to offer students free lunches and after school snacks. This program will go into effect tomorrow, Thursday, November 4 and will run the remainder of the current school year. Serving sizes will remain the same for all students, carefully planned and prepared by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) standards. Tray lunches for students will be served at no cost to families, milk purchased to go with a home-packed lunch will remain .50 cents and adult lunches will remain $3.70 each.
We are excited to introduce this program to the St. Mary’s school community and take pride in the fact that our lunch program is ranked in the top 5% of Missouri schools. Providing a nutritious lunch free of charge to our students is another example of the commitment St. Mary’s has to nurture and educate the whole child. If you have any questions about the program do not hesitate to contact the school office at 623-1465.
God bless and take care,
Joanne Lown