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Food Services
Please check out our Tater Tot video
2012-2013 Free & Reduced Price Meals Applications are now available -- one form per family -- other languages are available.
**New Menu Item** Chef Alden’s Tater Tots
We are making our own Tots from scratch and serving them with our very popular B.Good burger. We are getting these Russet Potatoes from Allandale Farm right down the road, and they are made up of only THREE ingredients. They are easy to duplicate at home and I’m sure there will be requests. The recipe goes like this:
2 lbs Russet Potatoes
4 Ounces Shredded Cheese
2 Ounces Salted Butter
Bake the potatoes at 350 for 30 minutes until soft to the touch like a baked potato. Then mash with skins on with butter and cheese until smooth(any cheese will do just don’t put in too much or they will melt in the oven) Scoop out small balls of the mash, and place on a buttered sheet pan. Bake at 425 for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. This makes about 24 1-ounce Tots enough for a side for 4-6 people. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
New Food Regulations September 2012
Starting in the fall of 2012, new Massachusetts and Federal guidelines for school food will go into effect. These changes are to ensure that all children in America are receiving adequate, nutrient dense, meals. Greater portions and variety of fruits and vegetables will be offered in addition to limits on proteins and grains (more whole grain). Students may notice changes to a la carte offerings which will have fewer options and different brands than previous years. Please click on this link for more information:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/legislation/comparison.pdf
New Negative Balance Policies
New negative balance policies will take effect immediately with the 2012-2013 school year. High School Students will not be allowed to make ANY purchases if they do not have any money in their account. Highschool students are not allowed to accrue negative balances. Students in grades 5-8 will have LIMITED meal options available to them (peanutbutter or sunflower-seed butter sandwich or gluten-free option) if they accrue -$10.00 on their account. To set up a payment plan, please contact the food services office. Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- Check your balance online for free at www.paypams.com
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COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
As part of our effort to reduce waist and decrease our environmental impact, a few more schools have now been provided with dishwashers, allowing them to reuse plastic trays. We have also introduced biodegradable trays, plates, and bowls to all cafeterias, making ALL cafeterias STYROFOAM FREE. This switch will eliminate 400,000 styrofoam trays a year!
"Make It Meatless!" features at least one vegetarian lunch entrée per week in the K-8 schools. Look for the MM symbol on the menu. We encourage students to choose a vegetarian meal once a week or more to potentially improve personal health and the health of the planet.
Our hamburgers come from all natural, locally-sourced beef that is ground and made into patties at b.good and cooked at all 9 schools. The beef comes from Pineland Farms Natural Meats – a collaborative of over 200 New England farms dedicated to raising livestock humanely. The cattle are fed a purely vegetarian diet and are never given antibiotics or growth hormones. The names of the particular farms that supply the beef on burger days will be listed here.
We feature local products in all of our cafeterias. A few of the items to look out for on our menus are Wheat Berry Salad -- which uses locally grown wheat berries from Four Star Farms in Northfield, MA; Nella Pasta Ravioli's -- are made a short walk away in Jamaica Plain, using only local ingredients from New England; and Arancini Rice Balls -- made by Caffe Pompei in the North End of Boston.
WHERE DO WE GET OUR PRODUCE?
The Food Services department wants to bring the freshest, most nutritious foods to your children and support local agriculture as well. This is why we purchase our produce from local vendors and farmers -- in particular, Russo's Market, J.W. Lopes, and Lanni Orchards. Russo's Market, located in Watertown, has been offering fresh quality fruits and vegetables for over 75 years. J.W. Lopes is a family business which has been supplying fresh produce for four generations. And Lanni Orchards is a 150-acre farm, located in Lunenburg, MA. If you are looking for a day trip, the farm offers tours and the opportunity to pick apples right from the branch. All three vendors deliver their produce to the nine Brookline school kitchens every Monday morning.
FOOD ALLERGIES
All Brookline cafeteria's are in compliance with the Massachusetts Food Allergen Awareness Act. If your child has a food allergy, make sure they indicate this to kitchen staff. In addition, we have a Food Ingredient List and an Allergy Friendly Meal Chart to help families of students with food allergies. We will be continually updating this list as our products and menus develop. If you cannot find a specific product, don't hesitate to contact us.
If your child has a food allergy and would like to eat school cafeteria food, please fill out the Food Allergen Form to begin the conversation of how we can better serve your child.
For students with gluten allergies or intolerances, we offer gluten-free individual pizzas every day pizza is on the menu. These pizzas are available upon request, please contact the kitchen manager the day prior to order the pizza for your child.
Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com
FOOD SERVICES PROGRAM
We aim to provide healthy, tasty, high-quality, sustainable, affordable meals to the students and staff of the Brookline Public Schools. We serve breakfast and lunch at all nine schools in the district. As part of the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program, we follow guidelines set by the USDA regulating what qualifies as a healthy breakfast and lunch. We cook meals from scratch, using real food, and we are continually looking for ways to improve our school meals.
For more details about our Food Services program, please read the following informational sheet.
New This Spring!!!
The Food Service department is committed to bringing fresh produce to the schools whenever possible and we could not think of a better way to get fresh produce than to grow it ourselves!!! This spring we have teamed up with teachers and parents at several of the schools to plant fresh herbs in the school gardens. Keep and eye out for seedlings of rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, basil, and parsley sprouting in the next few weeks. We will be using these herbs to add some yummy local flavor to our sides in the lunch room. This new installation was made possible by the generous donation of Brookline's own Allandale Farms. We partnered with Allandale earlier in the year to bring you Chef Alden's famous Tater Tots.
Our hope is that everyone in the school community can be involved in the growing and cultivation of these new herb gardens.
Keep your eyes peeled for these tasty herbs popping up on the lunch menu soon!
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Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com
MENUS
GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA! available by request every Friday -- you must contact the kitchen manager at your school no later than 12pm the school day prior to place your students order.
*fresh basil and vine-ripened cherry tomatoes
grown by students in the Lincoln school garden
are used on Pizzas and in the Salads of student lunches
(picture courtesy of Heidi Krantz)
LOCALLY-SOURCED BEEF*
Hamburgers served at all Brookline Public Schools use freshly ground beef from Pineland Farms Collaborative, check back for a listing of where exactly the beef came from when the 2012-2013 school year starts.
For More Information visit the Pineland Farms Website
*Locally-Sourced Beef comes from New England Farms, however, if supplies run low, beef will be obtained from family farms outside of New England
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Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com
PRICES
Breakfast:
K-8 $1.25
High School $1.50
Reduced Price $0.30
Breakfast is served ½ hour before the start of school.
Lunch:
K-8 $3.00
High School $3.25
Reduced Price $0.40
Milk: $0.50 for 8-oz, $0.75 for 10-oz
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Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com
PAYMENT AND FREE/REDUCED APPLICATIONS
The Public Schools of Brookline has a prepay system for Food Services. Once enrolled in the Brookline Public School system, each child automatically has a meal account and an assigned personal pin number that they can use at the time of purchase. (Students must memorize this number - and keep it personal - this number never changes) When a student purchases a meal, the price is deducted from their account. You must prepay for all meals. There are two ways to prepay:
(1) ONLINE PAYMENT -- Prepay online or by phone with a credit card or electronic check. You will need your child's pin number. A $1.95 transaction fee applies to each deposit, however you may check you student's balance for free. To set up an account , call 1-888-994-5100 or go to www.paypams.com
(2) PREPAYMENT ENVELOPES – Prepay directly at the school cafeteria by depositing cash or check in a prepayment envelope (available at each cafeteria). Please deposit a minimum of $5 and make checks out to 'BSFS'.
PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT ACCOUNT BALANCES REMAIN POSITIVE. If you don't know your child's balance, call the Kitchen Office, instruct your child to ask the Kitchen Manager, or set up a Paypams account online. As of September 2012, if your child accrues a negative balance of -$10 they may be denied or their meal options may be limited.
All students are provided with a PIN# when registered in any of Brookline's public schools (different than student ID) which they keep throughout their entire education experience in Brookline. At the time of purchase they must punch their number into a keypad at the register.
To practice using a keypad with your child download this image. Punch in the assigned 3-6 digit pin and then hit enter.
FREE/REDUCED PRICE MEAL APPLICATION 2012-2013
To Avoid A Gap In Status from 2011-2012: submit application by OCTOBER 24
Download the Free/Reduced Price Meal Application
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Your children may qualify for free or reduced price meals if your household income is within limits set by the Federal Income Guidelines, if your family receives benefits (such as SNAP or TANF), or if your family is homeless or your student is a foster child. Reduced price is $.30 for breakfast and $.40 for lunch. You may apply at any time during the school year, however, if your child received free or reduced price meals last year, you need to reapply in September for the current school year. One application per household is sufficient.
You may return form to the Kitchen Manager or Brookline School Food Service Office, Town Hall, 333 Washington Street, Brookline, MA 02445-6853.
Fax 617.264.6435
Please contact Joanne Conneely if you require an additional language.
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Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com
FOOD ALLERGIES
We have a new Food Ingredient List and an Allergy Friendly Meal Chart which will continue to be updated. Nearly all foods are prepared from scratch in our kitchens, however our product line is subject to change. Please check directly with Kitchen staff about foods prepared that day, prior to ordering.
We encourage parents to fill out the Food Allergen Form if your child has an allergen.
Gluten-Free Pizza is offered every day pizza appears on the menu, by request only. Please contact the kitchen manager at your schools the day prior to order.
Cafeteria Policy Regarding Nuts
Nuts, peanuts, and foods containing nuts and peanuts will be permitted only in the cafeteria or staff dining areas of the school. Special seating accommodations for students who need them will be in place in the cafeteria, according to parent request and school nurse approval. The cafeterias of all schools (except the Driscoll school) do serve some foods with peanuts or tree-nuts directly. All schools (including Driscoll) cannot guarantee that all of the foods are produced in certified nut-free facilities. If your child has a peanut or tree nut allergy, please discuss with the kitchen manager or food services director to find out what foods or recipes may contain peanuts or tree nuts.
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Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com
EXTRA MATERIALS
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Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com
CONTACT US
Alden Cadwell, Director
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Teresa Vidette, Acting Assistant Director
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Joanne Conneely, Office Manager
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Department of Food Services
333 Washington Street
Brookline, MA 02445
Tel: 617-730-2415
Fax: 617-264-6435
Kitchen Managers (Area Code: 617)
BHS: Ms. Vidette
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713-5115
Baker: Mrs. Foote
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879-4511
Devotion: Mrs. Paula
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879-4429
Driscoll: Mrs. Gojak
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879-4266
Heath: Mrs. Petroski
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879-4550
Lawrence: Mrs. Feltz
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879-4310
Lincoln: Mr. Foote
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879-4610
Pierce: Mrs. Kantardzic
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730-2488
Runkle: Mrs. Twomey
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879-4679
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Be sure to keep a positive balance on your students account -- check online for free at www.paypams.com