Food Services
Summer meals are HERE! We will again be offering summer meals to all students up to the age of 18. I can tell you we will be at Unity Park, Turners Falls High School, Erving elementary, Sheffield Elementary, Carnegie Library and HeadStart on G Street. In the next few weeks Project Bread will be posting the list of all Statewide sites and their serving times. Please feel free to reach out to them if you are on vacation somewhere other than at home.
PRIZES! Each week we are open we offer raffles for prizes to anyone who participated during the week. Ask your server for a yellow card and return it at the end of the week, whether you had one meal or all 10, you will be entered to win prizes each week. Our first week winner came to our site at Turners Falls High School and won a BMX bike!
The Food Services Department takes pride in offering delicious, healthy breakfasts and lunches to students on a daily basis. We recognize that nutrition plays a role in building strong bodies and minds, and so we stress the importance of nutritious meals and good eating habits. We also want families to know that we sometimes have to make changes to our monthly menus due to the availability of specific items from our food supply vendors. We have new things coming to the kitchens at GMRSD!
We also encourage our parents and students to take advantage of the ONE FREE breakfast and ONE FREE lunch that are offered at ALL GMRSD school this school year. Our job is to feed the kids of the community to the best of our ability. Click on this link for a video of how School lunch doesn't just make kids better kids -- it makes those kids into better adults. Our country's soldiers, journalists, judges, chefs, pro athletes and pilots were all once students being powered by school meals.
Food Service Director-Molly Brooks 413-863-7506
School Meals 2023-24 at GMRSD
Please note that due to staffing shortages some of our menus are limited. Please reach out to Molly Brooks Food Service Director if you are interested in helping us fill our staffing needs!
Menus-Menus subject to change due to supply issues. Lunch will be served on half days in all schools. For summer meals menus you will need to choose Turners Falls High as your school from the drop down menu.
We try to keep the menu as accurate as possible, however supply chain issues make substitutions necessary. We are having multiple items unavailable when ordered, we try our best to modify the menu as items change due to unavailability. Check with your schools cafeteria supervisor for specific menu details.
Other Food Service & Nutrition Information for Families
Community Food Resources
HIP Info for SNAP recipients
Franklin Area Survival Center Food Pantry
Franklin Community meals program- Neighbors feeding neighbors
Meal Modifications
GMRSD offers meal modification for any student needing modification for a disability with a medical statement signed by a state licensed medical professional. The medical statement must include:
▪ Information about the child's physical or mental impairment that is
sufficient to allow the district(GMRSD) to understand how it
restricts the child’s diet,
▪ An explanation of what must be done to accommodate the child’s
disability, and
▪ The food or foods to be omitted and recommended alternatives, in the
case of a modified meal.
The medical statement should be given to the nurse in the respective school for the student. I can also be given to the food service staff in the students school, however for confidentiality reason, can be given only to the nurse. Nurses must forward all notifications of medical statements that would require meal modification to the food service supervisor and FSD.
GMRSD must provide all
meal services in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the disabled
participant. Exclusion of any participant from the Program environment is not
considered an appropriate or reasonable modification.
Ensuring Information is Current and Confidential
• Confidentiality - It is extremely important for schools to protect the privacy of
children who have a disability. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974 (FERPA) requires medical information to be kept confidential. Confidentiality
practices should ensure that School Nutrition Program staff, identified by the SFA
have enough information to operationalize the production of each child’s modified
meal. Per FERPA 99.31, parental consent is not needed to share information
required to provide a meal modification with school officials who meet outlined
conditions. Staff of the school nutrition program, including Food Service
Management Companies, as identified by the SFA meet these conditions. The
information required to provide a meal modification is requested in meal
modification sample in attachment A.
GMRSD should not decline to provide a meal modification to
accommodate a child’s disability that is supported by a medical statement. However,
GMRSD may decline a request for a meal modification that would
fundamentally alter the nature of the CNP. A fundamental alteration is a modification so
drastic that it would change the essential nature of the CNP. GMRSD will work closely with families to prevent any misunderstandings before declining a modification request. consultant if you plan to decline a modification request.
• IF GMRSD declines a request, the district must,
under the Procedural Safeguards requirements, ensure that the child’s parent or
guardian understands their right to file a grievance if they believe a violation has
occurred regarding the request for a reasonable modification.
Nondiscrimination Statement
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Compla..., from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA
by:
1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2. fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
3. email: program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.