Nutrition Services
Our “Fresh” Mission
Each day, our Nutrition Services team serves approximately 2,800 breakfasts, 7,000 lunches, and 540 snacks to students across the district. Each meal is made with care and emulates our dedication to providing quality, nutritious meals to ensure students are equipped with the brain power to do their best in the classroom.
Reasons to Believe
- Tempe Elementary Schools provides FREE breakfast and lunch to all elementary, K-8, and middle school sites through the expansion of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program (since February 1, 2024).
- We prioritize student-led menus where food options are approved by students through taste testing and nutrition education.
- Our meals focus on scratch-based food items, utilize locally sourced foods, and maintain a culturally relevant menu free from harmful additives and artificial ingredients.
- Tempe Elementary Schools' Nutrition Services team is a past recipient of the Chef Ann & Lifetime Foundation Award, highlighting our commitment to improving food quality by using fresh ingredients, scratch cooking, limiting additives, and keeping ingredients minimal.
Award-Winning Nutrition
We recently received three awards from the Healthy Meals Incentives program, administered by the USDA and Action for Healthy Kids:
- Innovation in Nutrition Education Award
Tempe Elementary provides nutrition education to students on topics like menu and recipe development, food safety, and the food cycle through interactive field trips to the district’s central kitchen. District families are engaged in nutrition education through a parent newsletter which provides information about the menu, scratch-prepared meals, and student engagement activities. - Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals Award
Tempe Elementary introduced new scratch-made menu items, including Veggie Wraps, Coconut Paradise Muffins, and Buffalo Chicken Pizza. The district uses a chef’s hat icon on the menu to indicate that a menu item is scratch-made, and new menu items are introduced with fun activities like giving students clues and having them guess the item. Thanks to their commitment to expanding scratch-made options, the district has seen a 5% increase in both breakfast and lunch participation. - Lunch Trailblazer Award
Tempe Elementary reduced sodium at lunch by focusing on scratch-made menu items, using fresh proteins with no added salt, and offering more fresh produce options through its new salad bar.
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Tempe Elementary Schools Expands Scratch-Cooked Meals for Students
Free language assistance, auxiliary aids, and/or accommodations are available upon request. For more information, please contact nutritionservices@
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Did You Know?
All students at any of the District's 22 schools serving breakfast and lunch now receive one breakfast meal and one lunch meal each day at no cost!
Catering
Nutrition Services provides catering options for District meetings and events. For more information or to place an order, please reach out to the Nutrition Services team at nutritionservices@tempeschools.org.