Offer vs Serve Meal Options
We’re excited to share some updates and reminders about our school meal program to help you better understand what’s available to students each day.
What is Offer vs. Serve
At CCA we follow the Offer vs. Serve (OVS) model to encourage student choice and reduce food waste.
Here’s how it works:
- Students are offered all five components of a USDA-compliant meal:
- Meat/Meat Alternate, Grain, Fruit, Vegetable, & Milk
- To qualify as a full meal, students must select at least three components, and one of those must be a fruit or vegetable.
What this means in practice:
Because students can decline up to two items, some may leave the lunch line with a smaller meal—sometimes just an entrée and a piece of fruit or vegetable. While this is within the guidelines, we understand it can sometimes appear that students aren't getting enough to eat.
To support healthy choices, we offer multiple fruit and vegetable options daily, aiming to appeal to a wide range of tastes and encourage students to take items they will actually eat and feel satisfied. Our goal is to balance choice with nutrition and satisfaction.
Daily Meal Choices
Each day, students are offered a variety of balanced meal options that meet federal nutrition standards. Typically, this includes:
- A hot entrée
- An alternative choice
- Fresh fruits and vegetables (various choices)
- Milk (various options)
At our secondary buildings, students have access to additional entrée options such as:
- Domino’s® Smart Slice pizza
- Sub sandwiches
- Chef salads
- Wraps
- Yogurt parfaits
These expanded options provide older students with more flexibility and variety while still aligning with our nutrition goals.
Menus are posted regularly on our school website, so families can plan ahead.
When Items Run Out
While we work hard to prepare adequate quantities, there are rare occasions when a particular item may run out due to high demand or supplier shortages. When this happens:
- Students will be offered an alternate entrée or side item.
- All substitutions meet the same nutritional standards.
- We do our best to communicate with students and maintain variety and appeal in all meals served.
A La Carte Items
In addition to full meals, the Middle School and High School offer a la carte options such as:
- Extra entrees or
- Extra fruit & vegetable sides
- Healthy snacks (e.g., yogurt, granola bars)
- Bottled water or 100% juice
Coming soon - 5th graders will have access to low cost, healthy ala carte options.
Please note:
- A la carte items are not covered by free/reduced-price meal programs.
- Charges apply and are deducted from students' meal accounts.
- We encourage families to monitor balances regularly and set spending limits if desired.
A Look At Student Meals We're Serving
To give families a better idea of what meals look like, we’ve asked our staff to capture photos of student trays and offerings across several days and buildings. These images offer a transparent and well-rounded view of the food we serve every day and what a full tray looks like if your student takes everything they can to make a full reimbursable meal.
Thank you for your continued support of our school nutrition program. If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Food Services team.
Missy Ortman
Director of Nutrition & Food Services
missyortman@ccaschools.org
319-828-4510