Food Services

Ranch Hope Strang School Health and Wellness Policy

Date Adopted: 2/14/23 / Date Revised: 3/11/25

Ranch Hope Strang School believes that children need access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive, and that good health fosters student attendance and education.

Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades, and physical inactivity and excessive calorie intake are the predominant causes of obesity. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are responsible for two-thirds of deaths in the United States, and major risk factors for those diseases, including unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, and obesity, often are established in childhood. Further, the items most commonly sold from school vending machines, school stores, and snack bars include low-nutrition foods and beverages, such as soda, sports drinks, imitation fruit juices, chips, candy, cookies, and snack cakes.

To promote healthful behavior in the school, Ranch Hope Strang School is committed to encouraging its youth to consume fresh fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk and whole grains. Ranch Hope Strang School is also committed to encouraging youth to select and consume all components of the school meal.

In order to promote and protect children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn, Ranch Hope Strang School is committed to providing school environments that support healthy eating and physical activity and will ensure that:

1. All youth will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
2. J.S.A. 18A:35-7&8 requires that all youth be provided with 150 minutes of Health, Physical Education and Safety each week. The recess period shall not be used to meet the course requirements of Health, Physical Education and Safety.
3. Foods and beverages sold or served at school will meet the nutrition recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the USDA nutrition standards for National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. The Food Service Department will regulate the types of food and beverage items offered outside the federal meal requirements during school hours.
4. Fundraising during the school day will meet the Smart Snacks Standards.
5. All school activities serving any food or beverages during school hours and within 30 minutes after school will be approved and regulated by the Food Service Department.
6. All non-food service department food and beverages either for sale or free during breakfast and lunch hours are prohibited per the USDA regulations.

All youth will be provided with a minimum of 30 minutes per day for student meal service and consumption in a clean, safe, and pleasant dining environment.

To the maximum extent practicable, Ranch Hope Strang School will participate in available federal school meal programs, including the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program. The Food Services Department will work with its suppliers to incorporate locally grown products into the menus for youth. These foods will be labeled for easy identification by the school community and information on the local farms will be posted in the cafeterias.

Ranch Hope Strang School will provide nutrition, agricultural, and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity and will establish linkages between health education and school meal programs, and with related community services; Ranch Hope Strang School will provide nutrition education through classroom education and promotional days in the school lunch program, and community partnerships. These activities will include but are not limited to fact sheets, food samples and taste tests. Youth will be introduced to agricultural education through the use of the school gardens, greenhouses, and hydroponic towers.

Ranch Hope Strang School will engage youth, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing Ranch Hope’s menus and nutrition and physical activity policies.

The Health and Wellness policy will be updated and revised at least every three years.

The Youth Leadership Council will play an active role through menu recommendations, taste tests, surveys and healthy food promotions. Council meetings will be held throughout the year.

Ranch Hope Strang School strongly discourages the use of food as a reward for students. Food items are not to be shared during school meals between students to avoid potential food hazards and food allergy complications. In addition, food items brought in for classroom celebrations cannot be home prepared and therefore, need to be store purchased with the nutrition facts label present on the packaging and must comply with smart snack regulations listed below. Youth or Staff shall not bring the following from home and staff shall not serve, sell or give out the following anywhere on school property at any time before the end of the school day: A. Foods of minimal nutritional value; B. All food and beverage items listing sugar, in any form as the first ingredient; C. Soda and all forms of candy; D. Family size portions or large portions of snack foods exceeding 4 ounces; E. Drinks, excluding water, exceeding 20 ounces. F. All fast-food products i.e. McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Chic-fil-A, etc. G. Items above do not apply to items listed under general requirements. Any items in the above categories will be confiscated by school administration.

All snack and beverage items served anywhere to youth on school property shall meet the following Smart Snacks standards:

1. All snack foods will:
2. Be a “whole grain rich” grain product; or
3. Have as the first ingredient a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product, or a protein food; or
4. Be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit/ and or vegetable; or
5. Contain 10% of the daily value (DV) of one of the nutrients of public health concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (calcium, potassium, vitamin D, or dietary fiber).
6. Based on manufacturers nutritional data or nutrient facts labels, per serving, snacks and sides will contain:
7. No more than 35% of calories from total fat, with the exception of nuts/nut butters, seeds and reduced fat cheese.
8. No more than 10% of calories from saturated fat.
9. Zero grams of trans fat.
10. No more than 200 calories (Entrees will be less than 350 calories).
11. Less than 35% of weight from sugar, apart from dried fruits or vegetables.

This policy does not apply to: medically authorized special needs diets pursuant to federal regulations; school nurses using FMNVs (Food of Minimal Nutritional Value) during the course of providing health care to individual youth; or special needs youth whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) indicates their use for behavior modification. All youth requiring special diets, such as diabetics and those with food intolerances and food allergies will have nutritional and allergen information available to them from the Food Service Department. Medical notes must be signed by the nurse practitioner and submitted to the Food Service Department for any special menu modifications.

Ranch Hope Strang School’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will specifically address the issue of biosecurity for the school food service. Biosecurity may be part of the plans, procedures and mechanism for school safety.

Ranch Hope Strang School’s Food Service Department is committed to promoting the nutrition policy with all food service personnel, teachers, nurses, coaches and other school administrative staff so they have the skills they need to implement this policy and promote healthy eating practices. The Food Services Department will work toward expanding awareness about this policy among youth, parents, teachers and the community at large.

Ranch Hope’s School Principal, CFO and Food Service Director shall develop guidelines and procedures consistent with this policy, including a process for measuring the effectiveness of its implementation, and designating personnel within each department with operational responsibility for ensuring the school is complying with the policy.

Food and Beverages served during special school celebrations or during curriculum related activities shall be exempt from this policy with Food Service Director approval, except for foods of minimal nutritional value (FMNV).

Offer Versus Serve Policy

Ranch Hope Strang School / Implementation: 8-1-25

Offer versus serve (OVS) is a policy for reimbursable meals that allows students to decline a certain number of food components in the meal in order to reduce plate waste and food cost.

A school breakfast eligible for federal reimbursement shall offer four (4) food items from the three (3) food components in the appropriate amounts per grade grouping:

1. Fruit (Including optional vegetables)
2. Grains (Including optional meat/meat alternate)
3. Milk

Students are allowed to decline one (1) of the four (4) items offered but must select at least ½ cup of fruit (or ½ cup of vegetables) or ½ cup of a fruit /vegetable combination.

After taking the required ½ cup fruit or vegetables, students must select at least two (2) additional food items in the full amounts (per grade group requirements) to count toward the reimbursable offer versus serve meal.

A school lunch eligible for federal reimbursement shall offer at least 1 item from each of the following food components in the appropriate amounts per grade grouping:

1. Grains
2. Meat/Meat alternative
3. Fruit
4. Vegetables
5. Milk

Students are allowed to decline 2 of the 5 components being offered but must select at least ½ cup of fruit or vegetables or a ½ cup combination of fruit/vegetable combination.

After selecting at least, a ½ cup of fruit or vegetables, students must select at least 2 other components in full amounts(per grade requirement) to count toward a reimbursable offer versus serve meal.

School staff cannot require a student to take a particular food component (except the required ½ cup fruit or vegetables). It is the student’s choice to select 3 or all 4 food items for breakfast and it is the student’s choice to select 3 or all 5 of the components for lunch.

Prepackaged meals such as bagged or “grab and go” meals are allowed under OVS. School staff are encouraged to offer some food components/food items with choices (e.g. fruit basket) and/or the option to decline an item, such as milk.

At each school implementing the Offer versus Serve Policy:  School food service staff will be trained annually.  Signs will be posted to assist students in identifying a reimbursable meal under OVS.