Non-Food Activities Try celebrating with NO Food. This will allow you to focus on the children instead of the food! Ideas: The birthday boy/girl wears a crown all day or brings a book to be read aloud to the class. Bring age-appropriate party favors: coloring books, stickers, jump ropes, small toys, pencils, crayons, books, balls, playing cards, small stuffed animals, or homemade goody bags. Holiday Non-Food Celebration Ideas: Holiday stations with hands-on activities. Students rotate station-to-station creating bookmarks, greeting cards, relay games, dancing, etc. 

Snack Food/Beverage Recommendations Fruits Apples, Orange Wedges, Pineapple, Bananas, Grapes, Kiwi, Strawberries Vegetables Baby carrots, bell pepper strips, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, hummus, guacamole, salsa Snack-type foods Cheese Cubes, string cheese, whole grain crackers and pretzels, low-fat popcorn, baked chips and tortilla chips, low-sugar cereal, graham crackers, low-fat yogurt, 100% juice frozen bars Beverages Water! 100% fruit juice Honest Kids Juice Boxes Roaring Waters Juice Pouches.  **Snacks served must be individually (pre-packaged) from the vendor. 

Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

For the school year 2024-2025, Baldwin County Public Schools will participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). No further action is required of you. This USDA provision allows your child(ren) to participate in the school meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit a meal application. CEP is a key provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which allows schools and school districts in low-income areas to eliminate school meal applications and serve breakfast and lunch at no charge to all enrolled students. CEP gives food service professionals more time to focus on preparing nutritious meals that their students will enjoy and gives students more time to eat those meals by cutting down on time spent in the lunch line. More importantly, by offering all students a nutritious breakfast and lunch at no cost, CEP helps ensure more students come to class well-nourished and ready to learn. Children need healthy meals to learn. Baldwin County Public Schools offers healthy meals every school day. Breakfast and lunch meals will follow the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines for healthy school meals, so please encourage students to participate. “In the operation of child feeding programs, no child will be discriminated against because of race, sex, color, national origin, age or disability.” Parents or guardians who need further information may contact Erin Miller, Child Nutrition Program Director at 251-970-4402 or emiller@bcbe.org.

USDA NONDISCRIMINATION 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 Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: 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 Rights1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or public Release CEP 

2.Fax: (202) 690-7442; or

3.Email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. 

*The enclosed “non-discrimination” language herein was added pursuant to the May 5, 2022, USDA memorandum. However, although included as currently required for audit compliance by the USDA, the State of Alabama objects to its inclusion, applicability, and the application of this language due to currently pending legal challenges in the matter of The State of Tennessee, et al. v. USDA, et al., Case No. 3:22-cv-00257, and may be subject to change or removal.