Bryan County Schools Lunch Menu

Bryan County Schools provide education for more than 10,000 students, and its teachers have had 454 projects funded on DonorsChoose. Many of its schools experience similar academic progress across their state counterparts.

Excellent attendance is integral to student success. Help your child build healthy attendance habits by following these suggestions.

Breakfast

Breakfast can provide your children with the essential energy they need for learning each day, and many schools serve breakfast daily at only $1.60! Furthermore, those approved for free or reduced meal eligibility get free or reduced meals and, therefore, get to enjoy them as part of their educational experience.

Lunch is equally as essential, like fuel for our bodies; our brains require nourishment in the form of food to function optimally. School lunches provide students with an option of selecting three out of the five food components available – with at least one part, including fruits or vegetables, for optimal nourishment.

Bryan County Schools serves 9,600 students across 12 schools, and its teachers have had 454 projects funded on DonorsChoose. Schools that predominantly serve low-income students often receive lower state and local funding compared to those serving more affluent ones.

Achille Elementary and High School, situated in rural southeast Oklahoma, serves students from Pre-K to 12. Using various instructional methods and providing ample opportunity for exploration, such as art, music, dance drama, and physical education technology, the staff strives to provide the optimal learning experience for every one of its pupils.

Lunch

Bryan County Schools serves about 9,600 students at 12 schools. With annual revenue totaling $88.5 million – 37% from local sources and 63% from state/federal – their average per pupil expenditure stands at $9,427, while 454 projects funded through DonorsChoose among their teachers are funded.

Last year, Bryan County School District students paid 25 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch; now, thanks to a Richmond Hill mom’s “Pay it Forward” campaign, those same kids can benefit from free meals!

At the start of school, the district offered free meals to any child who didn’t have money for lunch. Over time, this program has expanded to encompass all children – regardless of meal plan membership, homelessness, or low-income status.

Parents can view their children’s lunch menu online using MealViewer, with entree selections varying by school and students choosing three or five components from among those available – fruit or vegetables included! However, regardless of what a student selects, their established selling price must still be charged regardless of what components are chosen for a meal.

MealViewer requires parents or guardians of students attending Bryan County schools to register them as users and provide documentation proving they live here, such as a bill with street addresses (post office boxes are not accepted), a mortgage or home purchase contract, or a utility bill.

Public high schools within Bryan County School District have earned high marks for preparing students to excel at college, yet some remain below average on rating systems such as GreatSchools’ rating system, which uses test scores, equity issues, and student persistence rates as metrics to judge schools.

Snacks

“An army marches on its stomach,” as the old saying goes, and Bryan County Schools are no exception to this maxim. Carole Knight, district administrator, attributes its food program’s success to a team of 60 employees at ten schools who plan, prepare, and serve breakfast and lunch daily to approximately 70% of its student body, all within 2-1/2 hours while consistently earning 100s on health inspections held twice every year by Bryan County Public Health officials.

That may sound like a lot of food, but it’s more than that; we want children to learn about good nutrition and make healthy decisions outside of school as well.

At BCES, this means serving meals such as a grilled chicken sandwich a la Chick-fil-A in a bag, along with waffle potatoes, salad with lettuce, tomato, and pickles, fruit selection, and an irresistibly delicious Ranger cookie, all served up with their choice of milk beverage.

All this is part of Bryan County School’s ongoing effort to help kids excel academically by providing them with nutritious meals that enable learning. It is an ongoing partnership, as the district strives to close achievement gaps by offering students healthy options in lunches that ensure optimal academic performance.

Special Diets

Bryan County schools serve approximately 70 percent of school-age children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at no cost, meaning school nutrition employees at each location plan, prepare, and serve an estimated daily volume of around 6,000 meals during a shift – that amounts to roughly one million annually according to Carole Knight, Director of School Food Services for Bryan County Public Schools. They do it all with smiles on their faces, says Carole Knight.

She credits the system’s “smart, talented staff,” particularly its lunchroom ladies, with creating an effective school program. They recognize they’re feeding children the best possible fare while taking great pride in doing it, she states.

Kids enjoy getting their hands dirty in the kitchen by cleaning dishes, emptying trash cans, and wiping down tables – it is an exciting and fulfilling job for young people, with those selected earning extra credit on their schedules for helping out. But the work itself can be demanding; each student may require multiple attempts before reaching success!

School nutrition workers must adhere to stringent federal regulations regarding meal preparation and handling, attend food safety training, and obtain certification to remain current on trends in both food service and nutritional science.

The school district’s nutrition program operates with an annual budget of about $4 million and stands out as unique in Georgia in that families eligible for free or reduced-price meals do not pay any fees because the district absorbs 30 cents per meal that the federal government would otherwise charge.

Parents, in order to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches in Bryan County, must present proof that they reside full-time there, such as a house purchase contract (or other evidence that their home is occupied), mortgage statement, rental receipts, or an official letter from medical personnel at a military base.

Schools serving predominantly disadvantaged students often receive significantly less state and local funding compared to schools that serve other students, creating what’s known as an achievement gap that can have severe repercussions for student outcomes. Learn how you can help close it on DonorsChoose.