Food Services

Please Note: Birthday celebration and classroom snack services are only available for Grades K-5.

York Suburban School District does not allow food and drinks from outside the school building to be brought in for birthday celebrations. Instead, the Whitsons Culinary Group offers a convenient way for families to provide food and snacks through their Birthday Celebration and Classroom Snacks Service.

Services can be easily purchased by completing the online order form and then sending a check or cash to the school with your child or to the Business Office at the Education Center.

Whitsons' staff will ensure the food items meet the federal Smart Snack nutritional and allergy requirements/guidelines and distribute the chosen snack to students during their lunch.

If you have any questions, please email yssdfoodservice@yssd.org

Birthday Celebration and Classroom Snacks Order Form
Order forms and payment must be submitted no less than two weeks prior to the date of celebration.

York Suburban School District’s Wellness Committee made recommendations last spring to help our school better meet the standards found within YSSD Policy 246 - School Wellness. This committee is comprised of parents, students, and school staff and regularly meets to discuss improving wellness for all YSSD students and staff. One of these recommendations focused on snacks found in all YSSD schools.

Snacks offered at school should meet the guidance provided by Smart Snack Guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). In addition, the number of students with food allergies has increased, making it more challenging to ensure all snacks are safe for all children.

The following guidelines are currently in place:

• Rewards and Incentives: Foods and beverages shall not be used as rewards for classroom or school activities unless the reward is an activity that promotes a positive nutrition message (e.g., a guest chef, a field trip to a farm or farmers market) and/or ties directly to the curriculum.
• Classroom Parties and Celebrations: Foods/beverages should only be brought in when requested for scheduled parties. All food items must be prepackaged and include an ingredients list for the school to review for any possible allergies. No homemade baked goods will be permitted.
• Families are encouraged to provide items that meet nutritional standards.
  • Moderate in sodium
  • Minimal trans fatty acids
  • More than 2 grams of fiber/serving
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables are preferred
  • Water, 100% juice, or milk (1% or nonfat) preferred
  • No foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (MNV)

The Smart Snacks Calculator can be used to check snack items to see if they meet the recommendations.

The school food nutrition programs meet the Federal nutrition standards for school meals, ensuring that meals are healthy and well-balanced and provide students with all the nutrition they need to succeed at school.  The District operates under the National School Lunch Program, and the USDA mandates the nutritional guidelines.  For additional specific information on the federal nutrition standards for school meals, please visit https://www.myplate.gov.

Reimbursable School Breakfast

Breakfast consists of three food components:

1. Fruit (or vegetable substitution)
2. Grain (and sometimes Meat/Meat Alternative)
3. Milk

• all students, at any grade level, must select at least three food items (some items count as two, ex. a breakfast sandwich)
• at least four food items must be offered
• student must select at least half a cup serving of fruit or vegetables (juice counts as half a cup of fruit)

Reimbursable School Lunch

Lunch consists of five food components:

1. Fruit
2. Vegetable
3. Grain
4. Meat/Meat Alternatives
5. Milk

• all students, at any grade level, must select at least three of five food items (some items count as two, ex. pizza)
• at least five food items must be offered
• student must select at least half a cup serving of fruit or vegetables or a half cup total serving of both fruit and vegetable
• Students may take up to two vegetables, up to two fruits

Information provided by the District's Food Service provider Whitson's

The Summer Food Service Program is a federally funded program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered in Pennsylvania by the Department of Education. Families can use any of the following methods to locate sites that serve free meals to children during the summer:

Call 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479) for English
Call 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273) for Spanish
Call 211

Text “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304
Text “SUMMER MEALS” or “VERANO” to 914-342-7744

“To encourage students’ wellness by providing an environment that promotes healthy lifestyle choices in the areas of nutrition and physical fitness” is the mission statement of the District’s Wellness Committee. The Committee is working on ways of promoting healthy nutritional choices and promoting physical fitness within the schools and the students’ homes

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail:
   U.S. Department of Agriculture
   Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
   1400 Independence Avenue, SW
   Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2. fax:
   (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442 or
3. email:
   Program.Intake@usda.gov

York Suburban is an equal opportunity provider.