Cafeteria
2023.24 Halifax Cafeteria
This year the PA state budget includes Free Breakfast service for all students. Additionally, students identified as eligible for reduced-priced lunches will not be charged for their meals during the 2023.24 school year. The 2023.24 Halifax Cafeteria lunch costs $2.60 for Elementary, $2.80 for Middle & High School. *** Your child(ren) may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. An online application to see if you qualify can be accessed at Compass PA. Or, a paper Application for Free or Reduce-Priced Lunches can be processed at the school by submitting this application to Lori Miller, Director of Food Services, HASD.
Click here for the current Wildcat Cafeteria Menus
Halifax Area School District Student Cafeteria Account Procedures
The Halifax Area School District uses XpressPoint, to manage all student cafeteria accounts and activities. XpressPoint merges information with PowerSchool on a daily basis. So you may not be able to see your child's cafeteria transactions but their account balances will be updated into PowerSchool every afternoon. The following are procedures for new and returning students:
Student Account numbers: Returning students will keep their previously assigned lunch account numbers (their student I.D. number). New students will be assigned a student I.D. number which will also serve as their lunch account number.
Depositing money into a student’s account: Money may be deposited into a student’s account any morning by enclosing a check or cash in an envelope with your student’s name and account number and amount to be deposited written on the envelope. Checks can be made payable to the Halifax Cafeteria. At the elementary school students may submit their envelope to their teachers or they may drop the envelope in the cafeteria drop-box. Middle school and high school students are encouraged to submit their funds in the morning to the cafeteria. Any funds submitted during the lunch periods may not be available for purchases at that time. Parents with multiple children within the district may send one check to be divided among their children’s accounts. Please include all of the student’s names and appropriate amount for each on the envelope.
Parents may also use the on-line system called SchoolCafe to deposit money into their student’s cafeteria account using a credit card. Deposits made using SchoolCafe are directly submitted into the students account and are available for use immediately. Parents using a credit card for multiple children also have the capability of transferring funds from one child to another without incurring any additional fees. There is a processing fee associated with the on-line credit card transactions. Traditional cash and check deposits submitted to the cafeterias does not incur additional fees. Click here to sign up for SchoolCafe.com and Step-by-Step Instructions.
Negative Balances: Students are encouraged not to carry a negative balance on their cafeteria accounts. However, our current practices will not allow a child to go without a standard meal because of a negative balance, they will be served. Parents are informed, of their child’s low or negative balances by text message. Be sure that your contact information is updated with the district when any changes take place. Please be sure to pay attention to the information that is provided to you so that your child’s account can be replenished within a timely manner. Students are not allowed to purchase A la Carte items when they have a negative balance. All negative balances are expected to be paid in full by the end of each school year. Accounts that are not paid will be submitted to the district’s collection agency and all fees for this service will also become the responsibility of the students account in question.
Free & Reduced Priced Meals: If you have not received official information from the Halifax Area School District stating your student’s meal status, for the current school year, by the end of the second week of school, you should consider completing an on-line or paper application. Free or Reduced priced meal benefits are a service provided by our state and federal government to help economically disadvantaged parents provide affordable, healthy meals for children during the school year. Parents can apply for these benefits at any time throughout the school year especially if a job situation changes. To Apply: go online to www.compass.state.pa.us, request a paper application from the school district, or print an Application.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Lori Miller, Food Service Director
The Halifax Area School District is committed to offering healthy meals every school day. This year the PA state budget includes Free Breakfast service for all students. Additionally, students identified as eligible for reduced-priced lunches will not be charged for their meals during the 2023.24 school year. The 2023.24 Halifax Cafeteria lunch costs $2.60 for Elementary, $2.80 for Middle & High School. *** Your child(ren) may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. An online application can be accessed at Compass PA or attachments for a paper application that can be completed and submitted to the school district for free or reduced-priced meal benefits is included below.
*** Juice 100 is offered in the Middle School and High School Cafeteria. One serving of the Juice 100 slushie is included with lunch service. The 4oz serving is equivalent to a 1/2 cup serving of fruit. Nutritional guidelines require a complete meal to include a 1/2 cup serving of a fruit or vegetables every day. Juice 100 is an exciting new way to meet the required nutritional standards. Additionally, Juice 100 meets the USDA Smart Snacks for schools requirements. For additional information click Juice 100.
Helpful Links
Application for Free or Reduce-Priced Lunches, Letter and Instructions to complete the application. For Meal Price assistance information in Spanish: Application, Letter and Instructions.
If additional assistance is required to translate this information, please contact Lori Miller, millerl@hasd.us or call 717.896.3416 ext. 126.
National School Lunch and Breakfast Program
SchoolCafe Sign-Up Instructions
A Medical Plan of Care is available for families of students who have been identified with food-related concerns. In order for the HASD Cafeterias to be a part of your child's health plan, we must be working as a team from the same source of information. Please feel free to reach out to the district nurse's office - Maria Palmer at Ext 224 and the Director of Food Service - Lori Miller at Ext 126, to begin the process of helping to keep our wildcat students safe and healthy.
*** Summer Food Programs.
Just because the school year ends doesn't mean that we stop caring about student's nutrition and access to healthy meals. Although Halifax no longer qualifies to supply free meals to all of our school-aged children, summer meal programs are still available in other locations. For more information about their service and operating locations:
Text: You can find meal programs near you by texting the word FOOD to 304-304, thanks to our friends at No Kid Hungry. You'll get a message with nearby locations. Data and message rates may apply.
Call: Calling the USDA Hotline at 1-800-348-6479 is another way to find free summer food service programs.
Federal Programs and Compliance
On June 27, 2013 the USDA announced the Smart Snacks in School interim regulation. It is effective July 1, 2014. This regulation establishes nutrition standards for all foods sold to students at school outside of the federally reimbursable meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Side items, snack foods, beverages, and any entrées not served as part of a reimbursable meal will need to comply with the nutrition standards, including calorie, fat, sugar and sodium limits, in order to be sold to students in school.
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, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
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 Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, 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 Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) Fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) E-mail: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.