Food Services
Sycamore Community School District 427 has partnered with Whitsons Culinary Group (formerly Arbor Management, Inc.) to offer nutritious, healthy food options to all students.
Sycamore Community School District 427 participates in the USDA sponsored National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, and all meals and snacks served meet or exceed the standards required by these programs. Whitsons Culinary Group is a privately held, family-operated, minority-owned business provides a wide range of customized dining services to public, private and charter schools. They are committed to providing students with nourishing meals specifically designed to meet the needs of the students, parents, and staff of Sycamore Community School District 427.
Menus
Whitsons Culinary Group, the district’s food service provider, utilizes an interactive online platform, FD Meal Planner, to provide easy access to comprehensive nutrition information for our schools' meal programs.
Key Features of FD Meal Planner include:
- Complete list of all food choices available to students
- Nutrient data for menu items
- Ability to Build-A-Meal and create customized meals
- Ingredient information for certain menu items
- Allergen identification within menu items
- Dietary preference identification with symbols indicating dietary preferences
- Translation to 180 languages using Google Translate
Nourishment & Fresh Foods
Our nutrition team including professional chefs, registered dietitians, and experienced foodservice managers work in synergy to develop healthy, balanced meals that are created fresh with quality ingredients that students enjoy. Our registered dietitians utilize strategies supported by sound nutrition science as the framework for menu planning. Whitsons chefs put a creative, healthy spin on scratch recipes. Our goal is to replace processed foods with whole foods and fresh ingredients.
Nutrition Education & Promotion
Whitsons provides an environment for students to learn how to create healthy meals from a wide variety of options. Our chef created, dietitian approved meals provide a guide modeling the most current nutrition guidelines. Dietitian led nutrition education programs allow for unique, interactive student engagement such as “Dietitians Test Kitchens”, “Ask the Dietitian” lunch booths, classroom presentations, and wellness fair activities. Nutrition education is reinforced with vivid displays, nutrition & wellness flyers, activity sheets, fruit and veggie of the month, and monthly nutritional newsletters.
Inspiration & Encouragement
Students are encouraged to explore new foods with tastings and display cooking to spark student taste buds and curiosity with healthy options. Rotating fresh garden bars introduce students to a wide assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables while encouraging them to experiment with different combinations. Whitsons' nutrition team allows students to personalize and create their own balanced meals through “Build Your Own” food bars and featured recipes. Creative dishes inspire students to expand their palates.
Payments
For the 2024-2025 school year, breakfast costs $1.50, lunch costs $2.70, and milk costs $0.55.
Food Service payments will run through the Infinite Campus Portal.
Adding Funds to Lunch Accounts Set Up Recurring Payments Set Up Low Balance Notifications
Free and Reduced Meals
Students need healthy meals to learn. As part of our commitment to empowering our learners to succeed, Sycamore Community School District 427 offers healthy meals every school day, and some students qualify to receive them for free or at a reduced price.
Nutrition & Allergen Information
A binder of vendor product specifications, including nutritional, ingredient, and allergen information, for all items is available in the Food Service Director’s office as well as with the School Nurse.
In addition, our vendor provides a product lookup site to view product specifications online. You may obtain product codes for menu items as well as the vendor lookup site through the Food Service Director.
Please note that occasional substitutions may be required due to vendor shortages or mandated commodity usage. Proper documentation for students with dietary restrictions is important for communication of dietary changes among school faculty and staff.
Whitsons Culinary Group managers and staff are trained in proper food handling, sanitation, and allergen management procedures.
Accommodating Children with Special Dietary Needs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) nondiscrimination regulation (7 CFR 15b), as well as the regulations governing the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, state that substitutions to the regular meal prepared for the general school population must be made for children who are unable to eat school meals because of their disabilities, when that need is certified by a licensed physician. The Modified Meal Request is required for documentation and must be signed by a Prescribing Physician/Medical Authority. The statement must include:
- the nature of the child's disability
- the reason the disability prevents the child from eating the regular school meal
- the specific substitutions needed
The guidance is based on the policy guidelines outlined in the FNS Instruction 783-2, Revision 2, Meal Substitutions for Medical or Other Special Dietary Reasons.
Students or parents/guardians of students with severe life-threatening food allergens (food anaphylaxis) or special dietary needs due to disability are encouraged to schedule a menu review with the Food Service Director and School Nurse upon submitting the Physician’s Statement for Food Substitution. If a request is not based on a disability signed by a recognized medical authority, it is at the district’s discretion whether or not they will accommodate the request per federal regulation.
Resources
Our Staff
About Whitsons Culinary Group
Whitsons Culinary Group is a privately held, family-operated, minority-owned business provides a wide range of customized dining services to public, private and charter schools. They are committed to providing students with nourishing meals specifically designed to meet the needs of the students, parents, and staff of Sycamore Community School District 427.
For more information and employment opportunities, please visit their website.
USDA Meals for Kids Site Finder (Summer Site Finder)
USDA works closely with states to ensure that children who receive on free or reduced-price school meals can get the nutrition they need when schools are closed – whether during summer break or unexpected closures during the school year. Through USDA's summer meal programs, approved sites in communities across the country can serve meals to kids up to age 18 at no cost. Families can use this tool to find directions to nearby meal sites, as well as their hours of operation and contact information.
Answers to common questions about summer meal operations this year can be found here.
Families seeking food assistance for their children can also contact The USDA National Hunger Hotline, operated by Hunger Free America. The hotline can be reached Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 10: PM (Eastern Standard Time) at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479) (for English) or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273) (for Spanish).