The District Office of Child Nutrition
We are proud of our approximately 90 school system employees and cafeteria staff. They are very dedicated to serving the children of Hawkins County Schools nutritious meals in a clean and safe environment. They not only prepare and serve the daily meals, but they are also involved in providing some fun and special activities throughout the school year.
Some of these activities are:
Parents Day for Lunch
Holiday Celebrations
Specials Lunch Meals at Christmas and Thanksgiving
Family Engagement Meals
Studies have shown that nutrition plays a big role in your child's performance in school, both in academics and extra-curricular activities. Nutritious food gives the child more energy, improves his/her ability to concentrate and improves behavior in the classroom. Encourage your child to eat a well-balanced, nutritious meal in the school cafeteria.
Hawkins County Schools is very pleased to inform our students, families, and stakeholders that beginning January 3, 2024, students at all schools will have access to free breakfast and free lunch each school day. This will be a pilot program for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year.
During the fall semester of the 2023-24 school year, all students have had access to breakfast at no charge and 6 of 16 schools in Hawkins County were operating under the USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), allowing all students access to free meals, including lunch. Piloting an extension to the CEP program to the remaining 10 schools in Hawkins County is now an option due to the federal government lowering the threshold for CEP participation, in addition to Tennessee directly certifying students receiving certain Medicaid benefits to those already receiving benefits like SNAP (food stamps) and TANF (Families First). The addition of certain Medicaid benefits has significantly increased our number of directly certified students across the district this fall.
Hawkins County Schools will re-evaluate the directly certified student data in late spring to assess the feasibility of continuing the pilot for future school years. Our goal is to always offer our students and families the best possible benefits and we believe this will be a tremendous immediate financial assistance.
The Hawkins County Schools Child Nutrition Department is federally funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) by participation in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The Child Nutrition Department does not receive local funding and sufficiently operates 15 school kitchens in 16 schools, generating operating funds by federal reimbursement for meals served to students.
What does this mean for you and your child(ren)?
All students enrolled in Hawkins County Schools will be eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to your household each school day. Your student will be able to participate in the meal programs without having to pay or submit an income-based application.
While one breakfast and one lunch meal per school day will be offered for free, students may still purchase second meals and ala carte items; however, please remember that charging for these items is not allowed. Students must have cash or funds in their meals account to purchase any ala carte items.
Families of students with a negative balance in their school cafeteria as of January 3, 2024, will have until the end of the school year to pay the balance; however, early payment would be accepted and appreciated. Payments may be made directly to your student’s school cafeteria by cash or check. Secure online payments (which may include convenience fees by the vendor) may be made at www.myschoolbucks.com.
Should you have any questions about CEP or your student’s meal account, please contact the Hawkins County Schools Child Nutrition Office at 423-272-2128 or mandy.kenner@hck12.net
Free and Reduced Meals
Free and reduced meals are available to students whose household meet the Federal income guidelines. Parents are strongly encouraged to complete and return an application for free or reduced meals, regardless of income, at any time during the school year.
Free meals are available also for eligible students enrolled in Hawkins County School System who are receiving TANF (Families First) or SNAP (Food Stamps) or FDPIR benefits. Parents should receive a letter informing them of their child (ren)'s direct certification eligibility. If all children in the household are not listed on the letter, please notify the Child Nutrition Office. Parents who do not want this benefit must submit a written note to the Director of Child Nutrition, 200 Depot Street, Rogersville, Tennessee 37857.
Only one application should be completed for the entire family. Parents will receive a letter indicating the status for which the child (ren) qualifies-free, reduced, or full pay. Only a complete meal maybe "sold" to a student qualifying for free or reduced meals. A la carte items or parts of a meal must be paid for with cash or from prepaid funds in a student account. Students enrolled at a CEP school do not need to apply.
Our Meals
What's On the Menu?
Five food group components (meat/meat alternate, fruit, vegetables, grain, and milk) are included in a school lunch. For the regular price of lunch, a student may choose 3, 4, or 5 items. One item must be a fruit or vegetable. The price remains the same whether the child chooses 3, 4, or 5 items.
Students may leave off one or two of the food groups or they may choose something from all 5 groups. Two food groups may come in one item. A sandwich is an example, which most of the time will contain meat and grain. A variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and salads are offered in all schools.
For breakfast, students are to choose 3 items from the 4 items offered. One item must be a fruit or vegetable.
Meal Charge Administrative Procedure
When pre-paying by check:
Make check payable to your school cafeteria. (For example, Joseph Rogers Primary School Cafeteria.)
Your child/children’s name and teacher/s’ name for which you are paying should be on your check.
No checks are accepted after April 30 th of each school year.
Prepayment of meals is accepted up to $100.00.
A service fee may be charged for each check returned for insufficient funds. No checks will be accepted during the remainder of the school year after two checks are returned
Non-Discrimination Statement
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 can be obtained online here, 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:
Mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; orFax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
