***Please note all school meals are now FREE of charge for all students***
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Find Hingham Food Service Allergy Procedures here
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While school meals will be free this year, it is important that families fill out the Free and Reduced Price School Meals Application so they may qualify for additional meal benefits and other local/school-related fees. You can find instructions for the application here.
FAQs
How can I sign up for school lunches?
- LUNCH ID (PIN), LUNCH ID, LUNCH ID-All students purchasing food or drink from the cafeteria must use their PIN regardless of payment method.
- Students can obtain their PIN numbers at school at any time. [Secondary students can view their pins on the X2 Aspen Portal under ‘My Info’].
- Students can still pay cash for their lunch each day, but must use their PIN to process the purchase.
- Parents can pre-pay for lunches by creating an account online at www.schoolcafe.com using a credit card (a fee will be charged for processing credit card payments), or by sending in a check or cash to the cafeteria manager (no fee for paying by check or cash).
- Parents can create an account on www.schoolcafe.com and add money to the account at any time.
- Parents can check online to see a summary of what food was purchased.
What does my child need to know?
Students should know their PIN. Elementary students will be given cards with their PIN numbers and homeroom. At the Middle and High School level PIN numbers are available on the student portal.
How will my child pay for lunch?
Please note school lunch is FREE of charge for all students for the 2023-20242 school year! However, there will be a charge for additional items.
Students can pay in a variety of ways.
- Students can set up an account balance by bringing cash or check to the cafeteria to add money to their account.
- Students can still pay cash each day. However, they need to enter a PIN.
- Parents can create an account at www.schoolcafe.com. Using either VISA or MasterCard, you can add up to a $100 per transaction to a student’s lunch account. NOTE: There is a convenience fee for each deposit.
Regardless of payment method, students will need to enter their PIN
How do I set up an account?
Log on to www.schoolcafe.com and have your child’s student ID ready, then follow the online instructions. High School and Middle School students can find their student ID by logging onto the student portal then to the “My info Top Tab / My Details Side Tab”. The local identifier is the student ID, PIN numbers will also be populated here.
What is the school lunch “charging” policy?
The purpose of this regulation is to establish consistent meal account procedures through out the District. Unpaid charges place a financial strain on the food service department. The goals of this policy are:
- To treat all students with dignity in the serving line.
- To support positive situations with the district staff, district business policies, student and parent/guardian to the maximum extent possible.
- To establish age-appropriate procedures.
- To encourage parent/guardian to assume the responsibility of meal payments and to promote self-responsibility of the student.
- To establish a consistent district policy regarding charges and collection of charges.
What are the scope of responsibilities for everyone?
The Food Service Department: The Food Service Department will be responsible for maintaining accurate ‘charge’ records, forwarding written and/or voice notification to parent/guardian, and notifying the School District of any outstanding balances.
The School Department: The School Department will be responsible for following through on any sanctions imposed on those owing money.
The Parent/Guardian: The Parent/Guardian will be responsible for making immediate payments.
What are the grade limits for charging lunches?
Elementary Schools: Grades K-5 will be allowed to charge a maximum of five lunches.
Middle School: Students may charge a maximum of two lunches.
High School: Students may not charge lunches at the High School level.
Alternatives:
- Charged meals will include only meal items that are part of a reimbursable meal. No snacks may be purchased.
- After the allowable charge limit, students will be offered an alternative lunch; the account will be charged. No snacks may be purchased until the bill is paid.
- If payment is not received, the student will receive an alternative lunch consisting of a cheese sandwich and milk, the account will be charged.
- After May 15th, ‘charging’ will not be allowed.
- If payment is not received, all charges will carry over to the next school year.
- Seniors must pay all charges before receiving cap & gown.
- All charges, not paid, will carry over to the next year.
- If financial hardship is suspected anytime during the school year, families are encouraged to apply for the free & reduced program. We care.
Kimberly Smyth
Food Service Director
ksmyth@hinghamschools.org
781-804-2567
Welcome to Hingham Food Service. We strive for balance in our program of health, fun and yumminess. We offer balanced meals to the children in Hingham in a variety of ways. Some favorites amongst the students are the pretzel meal, brunch for lunch and chicken nuggets are always a big hit at any level.
Our program is an extension of the healthy lifestyle foundation that students get at home. Food service reinforces what a balanced meal looks, smells and tastes like. On a weekly basis students are served a rainbow of produce orange, dark green and legumes which come in a variety of colors can be seen on every menu every week. All the grains served in Food service are whole grain rich including the breading on the nuggets. Food service uses healthy cooking methods such as baking, roasting and steaming nothing is ever fried. Fresh whole fruit is always an option for students. So long as a student purchases a school lunch they are always welcome to come back for seconds on fruits and vegetables. Students can even purchase fruit or vegetables separately for $.50. We encourage students to take and try it all.
Modern family life is super busy. Children in this community are very busy with activities and everyday life is a juggling act. Food service has an online payment option through schoolcafe.com. Isn’t there enough to manage in a family? Let schoolcafe.com make managing school lunch easier with features like low balance alerts, automatic payments and purchase history. Schoolcafe.com does offer the convenience of accepting credit card payments but there is a fee attached to the processing. This is the only fee for the account. We will always accept payments, cash or check, at the schools (no fee). Please make checks payable to HPS Food service and put your child’s full name and homeroom in the memo of the check to insure proper processing. It would also be helpful if it was in an envelope marked school lunch, cafeteria, or food service so everyone will know where the payment should go. This mostly pertains to the elementary kids. At the Middle School and the High School it is easier if students are able to bring payments prior to lunch but if not they can hand the payments in as they come through the line. When students have money on their accounts the lines move much faster and we are always trying to find ways to give the students more time to enjoy their lunch time break.
Schoolcafe.com is also the place you can find the online application to apply for free/reduced school lunch. If your family is struggling financially check into schoolcafe.com to see if you qualify. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for assistance with the application. Worrying about money can be stressful. This program is completely anonymous, and may help to alleviate a little of that burden. You can send your child off to school and know that he/she will have a healthy delicious meal every school day. Student’s eligibility is completely anonymous and automatic through the point of sale system.
School lunch menus are done on a monthly basis. They are posted on the school website, and emailed monthly through the student portal. If your email address is up to date in the student portal you will receive the monthly newsletter.
If your child has special dietary needs and would like to participate in the school lunch program please don’t hesitate to contact food service. Also available is a gluten free menu which is posted on our menu site. Any special meal will have to be ordered with the cafeteria manager by 9 AM. Their contact information can be found on the contact page. This gives us the time to be sure that your child will have a lunch that is safe and delicious. In addition, please note that food substitutions are only required for life-threatening food allergies as determined by a medical professional. Our Food Service Allergy Procedures can be found here.
The food service program is growing and evolving. It is better now than it was last year and every year we strive to improve and meet the needs of the children in Hingham Schools.