School Lunch & Breakfast at Cedar Park

• ***Please note: Seattle Public Schools is currently reviewing and updating their school lunch payment processes and the below information may change. If changes are made, Cedar Park will make every effort to share updated processes with our families.***
• Breakfast is served daily starting at 7:40 a.m. in the cafeteria.
• After school starts at 7:55, students will still be able to purchase a breakfast to take to class with them.
• All students have an internal account at the school that they use to purchase meals.
• You can add money to the account by bringing in cash or a check to Ms. Mac in the lunchroom to deposit in person.
• You can also deposit money online through paypams.com. To set up an account you will need your student’s ID #, which the school office can give you.
• Students have a pin # that they use to purchase breakfast or lunch, but you do not need this number to deposit money into their account.
• School staff supports students as they purchase a meal and helps them learn their pin number.
• There is usually a hot lunch option and there will always be a vegetarian option. Additionally, no pork products are used (pepperoni, bacon, etc. are all made out of turkey).
• Breakfast is $2.25, lunch is $3.25. All meals include fruits, veggies and milk.
• Students can also purchase milk on its own for $.75.
• If your student has a dietary limitation (ex, Vegetarian), let their teacher know so that they can support your student in picking an appropriate lunch option.
• School Menus
• Free & Reduced Lunch Information

Make a plan with your student

Students often make a decision during the day to purchase school lunch, even if they have brought a home lunch. There are many reasons for this: sometimes students are still hungry after eating their own lunch, sometimes the school lunch for the day is a favorite dish.

The Kitchen Manager and the supervisory staff in the cafeteria are not able to monitor and patrol these student choices. If a student tells an adult that they are hungry, that adult will ensure the student has a meal. Hungry brains have a hard time learning. A meal will be provided even if there isn’t enough money loaded onto a student’s account to cover it, producing a debit.

This can be a surprise to parents who haven’t been aware that their student occasionally purchases lunch or breakfast. Every family has different feelings about unplanned school lunch purchases. Some families want to make sure they have control over the quality and ingredients that their student consumes. Some families feel that their student can make appropriate decisions regarding school lunch on their own. Talk to your student about your family’s expectations and values about getting school lunch instead of, or in addition to eating the lunch they brought from home.