Children who eat a nutritious breakfast and lunch daily frequently perform better and are less distracted in school. Eating a daily school-provided breakfast and lunch is critical to student health and well-being and ensures students have the nutrition they need throughout the day to learn. Research shows that eating school-provided breakfast and lunch reduces food insecurity, obesity, and poor health.

Our breakfasts and lunches are prepared from chef-developed recipes and include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. All meals meet or exceed USDA guidelines and help children grow into healthy adults.

To provide our students with the high-quality food they need to be successful in school, we are pleased to partner with one of the nation's leading school food service companies, Chartwells, LLC.  Chartwells is focused on providing nutritious meals and information about healthy eating. You can learn more at www.eatlearnlive.com.

Many families in Groveport Madison Schools qualify for their child(ren) to receive free or reduced-price meals (breakfast and lunch) through the National School Lunch Program, which is sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture. Qualified students can receive free or reduced-price lunch daily, and applications may be made at any time of the year, as circumstances dictate. 

Effective Oct. 3, 2023 - The Ohio Department of Education has announced the State of Ohio biennial budget includes funding to cover the cost of providing no-cost lunch to students qualifying for reduced-price meals. Starting in school year 2023-2024, public schools that participate in the National School Breakfast or Lunch Program are required to provide breakfast or lunch at no cost to each student eligible for a reduced-price breakfast or lunch. If you believe you qualify for free or reduced-price meals, please fill out the form below!

Complete an online application through your PaySchools Account.  The information provided is confidential and only used to determine eligibility for the Federal Lunch Program. Online applications are processed very quickly, with eligibility generally determined in less than 48 hours. Paper applications are also available at our schools, but it may take six days or more to process paper applications. Guidelines for eligibility in the program are determined annually. You can learn more about the eligibility guidelines, here.

Regardless of the payment method, all Groveport Madison students are assigned a lunch account utilizing a six-digit passcode (the student’s I.D. number). This number can be found on the student’s enrollment information and as part of the student’s assigned email address. Any questions regarding student meal accounts should be directed to Dan Magee, at 614-836-4969.

Breakfast is provided free to any student through our universal free breakfast program.

Students may pay for lunch with cash when going through the lunch line, or meals can be paid for in advance by check (payable to Groveport Madison Schools). The District also contracts with “PaySchools,” which allows parents to put money on their child's account via credit card or an electronic funds transfer.

 

We understand there are occasions when students may run short of lunch money or leave their packed lunch on the kitchen table before jumping on the school bus. In these unexpected situations, students may “charge” their lunch (as outlined below). Charges are considered a debt and must be repaid by the student or the parent/guardian. Please note the following allowances for meal charges: 

When a meal is charged, the food services staff will issue the student a “Meal Charge Notification," which the student is expected to take home to their parent/guardian. If a student accumulates the maximum number of meal charges, the food services department will contact the student’s parent/guardian to plan for repayment, and the student will be provided an alternate meal.

In instances where the student has accumulated the maximum allowable meal charges, the student will be provided with an alternate meal consisting of a cheese sandwich, fruit, and white milk until payment is received or the debt has been reduced to $15 or less. The alternate meal will meet all U.S.D.A. National School Lunch Program nutritional guidelines. Documented special dietary restrictions will be considered when issuing any alternate meals.

The parent/guardian must pay any accrued debt (charges) associated with the student by the end of the school year. Any unpaid meal debts will be carried over to the following year, per U.S.D.A. guidelines, and will be considered to be turned over for collections.

Groveport Madison Schools' and Chartwells Food Service Department is now offering parents and students an easy way to find daily school menus with links to food item descriptions, photos, nutritional information, serving sizes, and even carbohydrate counts on the food offered at school. Click here to access the Nutrislice website.

 

In addition, you can download the free Nutrislice app for fast and easy access to the same information. 

 

Get the app on iTunes here.

Get the app on GooglePlay here.