School Meals

cmes breakfast and lunch - food programs

FOOD PROGRAMS: BREAKFAST AND LUNCH

Catered lunches and breakfasts are provided for all children of Cornerstone. Seasonal and nutritious, the menu for lunch includes a grain, protein, fruit, and vegetable, as well as milk. Breakfast includes a bagel or cereal, a source of protein, fruit and milk. Monthly menus are posted for parents to view. (Note that there are occasional unforeseen changes to the menu as decided by the caterer.) Guides/teachers encourage children to try all food as a way of building an understanding of nutrition and open-mindedness. Dairy varieties of milk are provided during breakfast/lunch and children may also choose to drink water. 

Our school offers healthy meals each day. Starting in the 2023-24 school year we joined Minnesota’s Free School Meals Program. All students can get one breakfast and one lunch free of charge each day at school. Although no application is required to receive this free meal benefit, filling out the Application for Educational Benefits is still important! Your child(ren) may qualify for other benefits like reduced fees at school. Your application may also help the school qualify for education funds, discounts, and other meal programs. Click here to access more details about the benefits program. Click here for a copy of the 2024-25 Application for Educational Benefits.

Regular Breakfast and Lunch Menus are posted on the website mid-month for the upcoming month and families may choose their order at that time.  Regular and Vegetarian options are included on the menu. The allergen 4-week cycle menu is also posted on the website. Families requesting an allergen meal option for a child must also complete the Special Dietary Statement for Allergen Meals and return to Cornerstone with the request.

***Due to staffing and food preparation considerations, families will need to decide on regular, vegetarian, or special diet lunches on a monthly basis, and are not permitted to do so on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis. 

Families with children at Cornerstone Elementary may choose to bring lunch from home. However, catering to food likes and dislikes on a day-to-day basis can promote increasingly narrow options for healthy and nutritious eating in children. If a child does bring a lunch from home, it must include milk and all other nutritional requirements recognized by the USDA and follow the School’s no sugar and no peanuts policies.  Junk-food, i.e. chips and other processed foods and foods that do not follow the no sugar, no peanut policies will be kept in the office and sent home with a note at the end of the day. We cannot heat or reheat lunches brought from home.

***Please note: if your child has specific food allergies or dietary needs, please let the staff know so that we can arrange for a safe and edible and tasty meal. 

FOOD POLICY: BREAKFAST, LUNCH, & SNACKS

Healthy and nutritious food is a priority at Cornerstone School. The school has a “no sugar” and a “no nut” policy. Children are not offered products at school that contain refined sugar, nor will they be served items containing nuts. Lunches sent from home must comply with these policies.

Children are offered breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day. Water is available in the environments and common areas. An information sheet on children's allergies and dietary restrictions will be posted in the kitchen and spaces where children eat.

We work with our caterer, CKC Good Foods, to provide healthy lunches and breakfasts for the children each day. Menus are planned on a monthly basis and distributed to parents in advance. Breakfast and lunch comply with USDA requirements; parents who choose to provide food for their children must meet these requirements as well (including milk).

Children in CMS receive lunch and breakfast as part of their tuition. Children in Cornerstone Elementary receive lunch and breakfast for free.

All children wash their hands before eating meals or snacks. Food preparation tools, flatware, glassware, and dishes are washed and sanitized between each use.