Lunch & Breakfast for Students at School

Cedar Park qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program for the 2026-27 school year. This means that every student at Cedar Park can have one full breakfast and one full lunch free of charge every day.

• Breakfast is served daily starting at 7:40 a.m. in the cafeteria.
• Once our learning day begins 7:55, students will still be able to take their breakfast to take to class with them to class.
• All students have an account at school so we can track meal distribution for the CEP program.
• There is always a vegetarian meal option. Additionally, no pork products are used (pepperoni, bacon, etc. are all made with turkey). All meals include fruit, vegetables and milk.
• If students of families only want milk without a meal, a milk purchase will be charged to your student’s lunch account for a cost of $0.75.
• You can add money to the account by bringing in cash or a check for Ms. Jesse in the lunchroom to deposit in person, or deposit money online through MySchoolBucks.com. To set up an account you will need your student’s ID number, which the school office can give you.
• School staff supervises and supports students during lunch.
• Cafeteria staff cross-check school provided meals with known food allergies.
• 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 choose a school-provided meal, even if they have had breakfast at home or have a packed lunch from home. There are many reasons for this: sometimes students are still hungry after eating their packed lunch, but most often we see students choose a school meal because it is a favorite dish or because their friends are eating a school meal.

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.

This can be a surprise to families who expect their child to eat the food they have prepared and packed for them to eat at school. This is also leading to an increasing amount of food waste at school as we see students with packed lunches also get a free lunch from the school. They eat a few items from their packed lunch and only eat a few bites from the school lunch, throwing so much of their meal away. Every family has different feelings about unplanned school lunch choices. Some families want to make sure they have control over the quality and ingredients that their students consume. Some families feel that their students can make appropriate decisions regarding school lunch on their own. Many family’s lived experience with school lunch from their time as an elementary student was not great. Poor quality meals with poor nutritional value that were often flavorless or just not good are no longer the norm. The meals provided by SPS are nutritionally balanced, flavorful, and represent a wide variety of cultures.

At Cedar Park we will ask all students who bring a packed lunch to eat that first. If they are still hungry after finishing their home lunch they may get a school lunch. Be aware that this policy sometimes leads our students to throw away portions of their packed lunches so that they can get the preferred school provided meal. Talk to your student about your family’s expectations and values about eating food in their packed lunch over getting school lunch. Help them understand the importance your family places on the food they eat.