Denton ISD Our Impact In Your Community Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 19

homemade items are not allowed to be placed on
the food sharing table.
This policy falls in line with guidelines set by the
United States Department of Agriculture that were
established to help child nutrition providers across the
country establish sharing tables. The USDA also encourages
the promotion of meal consumption by providing students a
variety of options, like the establishment of student advisory
committees, taste tests and general education about nutrition.
Mr. Bomberger said the district is already incorporating options
to encourage more healthy choices at mealtime, including
those options available at the sharing table. As the district works
through these processes, they will be rolled out to campuses.
The sharing table has been a hit at Lee, with students becoming
more aware of what they’re eating through friendly conversations
and opportunities to share with each other.
“Our students are excited to share their food with others and
we’ve also noticed that most students now all have a snack to eat
during their grade-level snack time,” said Tiffany Gonzalez, assistant
principal at Lee. “We stress the importance of character and what
those traits are, so the sharing table has become a great way for our
students to practice those skills.”
The sharing table has also had an effect on the classroom, with
students seemingly more attentive and engaged in lessons later
in the day, Mrs. Gonzalez said. She also mentioned that excess
waste at lunch has continuously decreased and students are more
cognizant of what they’re placing on the table to share.
Campus staff members oversee monitoring the table for food
freshness and disposing of any remaining food at the end of
daily lunch sessions. Non-perishable packaged food items, fruits
and vegetables may also be taken from the sharing table to be
consumed as an afternoon snack at home, if not eaten
at school.
The district is looking to expand the program throughout the
district as it continues to work through some kinks.
SchoolCafé
SchoolCafé is Denton ISD’s meal account
management service. SchoolCafé allows
parents to reload their student’s meal
account, view weekly cafeteria menus
and receive food nutritional information
via the SchoolCafé website or the free
SchoolCafé mobile app.
Parents can opt-in for low-balance
notifications and meal fund auto-refill
payments.
To apply for free and reduced-cost meal
plan benefits, please visit:
www.dentonisd.org/childnutrition
Charging Lunches
As of the 2017-18 school year, there is a
new meal charge policy in place:
“Each student can charge up to five
breakfasts and five lunches. Courtesy
calls will begin after the second charged
meal to update households of their
student’s balance issue. A La Carte items
are not available to charge.”
To best serve our students, those with a
negative meal balance will not be given
an alternate meal. These students will
receive the same meal as everyone else,
and communications will take place
between the campus and parent should
prolonged meal charging activity occur.
For more information on
Child Nutrition, please visit:
www.dentonisd.org/childnutrition
and follow along on social media at
www.facebook.com/DISDchildnutrition.
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