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Food Services

At Hamilton Southeastern Schools, we provide our students with nutritious meal options every day including milk, protein, fruits, vegetables, and grains.

While the most nutritious lunch contains all of the options, we understand that sometimes our students do not like some of the items we serve. To make our young customers happy, we like to give them the option to decline items they do not want to eat. In order to be in compliance with Offer Versus Serve standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), students are required to take at least three components for their meal. One of these must be at least ½ cup of fruit or vegetable.

Menus and Resources

Food Safety Tips

Chances are, you worry more about whether your children will eat their food in their school lunch boxes than about whether that food will be safe to eat. But children are the most vulnerable to food poisoning, so it makes sense to take extra precautions when preparing the lunches they take to school.

DOWNLOAD OR PRINT FOOD SAFETY FLYER

Did you know?

  • 1 in 6 Approximate number of Americans stricken with food poisoning each year.

  • 128,000 Estimated annual hospitalizations from foodborne illnesses.

  • 42,000 Estimated annual reports of Salmonella infections, the most frequent cause of foodborne illnesses.
  • Of the estimated 42,000 annual Salmonella infections, almost 50% of those are in infants and school-age children.
  • Because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of Salmonella infections may be 29 or more times greater. That's more than 1.2 million estimated cases annually.

Tips to Keep Your Kids Healthy

CLEAN
Be sure to wash your hands and use clean cutting boards, utensils, and countertops before preparing food.

SEPERATE
Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for meat and poultry to avoid cross-contamination.

COOK
Cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer (e.g., cook poultry to 165 degrees).

CHILL
Make sure to pack perishable food items with at least two cold sources (e.g., ice packs or frozen water bottles).

Pack a Safe Lunch

Send your kids back to school with safe and satisfying lunches by following these simple tips:

Tip 1

Frozen Juice boxes can also be used a freezer packs. By lunchtime, the juice should be thawed and ready to drink!

Tip 4

If possible, your child's lunch should be stored in a refrigerator. But leave the lid of the lunchbox or an insulated, soft-sided bag open in the fridge so that cold air can circulate and keep the food cold.

Tip 2

Perishable food can be unsafe to eat by lunchtime if packed in a paper bag. Use an insulated box or bag instead.

Tip 5

If you're packing a hot lunch, like soup, chili, or stew, use an insulated container to keep it hot. Fill the container with boiling water, let it stand for a few minutes, empty it, and then put in the piping hot food. Tell your child to keep the insulated container closed until lunchtime to keep the food hot, 140 degrees or above.

Tip 3

Children should wash their hands for 20 seconds with warm, soapy water before eating. Have them sing the ABCs twice while washing if they sometimes finish early.

Tip 6

After lunch, discard all leftover food, used food packaging, and paper bags. Do not reuse packaging because it could contaminate other food.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the State or local Agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.