The goal of the District's Nutrition Services Department is to provide high-quality, nutritious, well-balanced meals for students. Nutrition Services offers a wide variety of food choices to teach students how to develop healthy, lifetime eating habits.
Each October, Nutrition Services holds a student recipe contest at each elementary school. The student who wins gets to serve their winning recipe at lunch.
Students sort their food waste for the Food to Hog program, a program that uses food scraps to feed livestock at a local farm.
An example of the a la carte offerings at Irondale High School. The middle and high schools offer a la carte items in addition to the daily menu items.
As part of the Farm to School program, local family business Rabideaux Farms delivers fruit to Mounds View students from nearby Ham Lake, Minnesota.
You can find your child's PIN number in ParentVue under the student information tab. On the left side of the page, click on the "Student Info" tab. Scroll until you see "Miscellaneous Information." The PIN is a 5-digit number they will use when they pass through the breakfast and lunch line.
A keypad your student can practice on to help memorize their PIN number:
Mounds View Schools has a computerized meal accounting system that assigns a unique PIN number to each student when they are enrolled in our school district. When a student passes through the breakfast and lunch line, they type in their own 5-digit PIN number into the keypad at the register. When the student enters their PIN number their meal is added(charged) to their meal account.
If a student enters their PIN to purchase Ala Carte items, similar to a store, the cashier at the register enters the items purchased to charge the ala carte items to their meal account. View AlaCarte item prices HERE.
Is Breakfast and Lunch free for all students this school year?
Yes! All students, Preschool to Grade 12, are offered one breakfast and one lunch meal at no cost each school day. One carton of milk is included in a breakfast and lunch meal. Please see our Offer vs Serve poster or contact NutritionServices@mvpschools.org for more information.
How do I view or print school menus?
Click here view directions how to use and print LINQ online menus, including allergens and nutrition information. School menus can be viewed and printed from LINQ Connect.
Is there a fee to make a payment online? How do I make a payment?
No, there is no fee to make an online payment. To make an online payment, visit LINQ Connect. In your LINQ Connect account, you will also be able to view cafeteria purchases, view account balances and set up email notifications on low balances for your students.
Do you accept cash or check for meal account deposits?
Yes, we accept cash or check for meal account deposits. Checks can be written out to ISD 621 Nutrition Services. Please include your child's name in the memo line. Each school cafeteria has a money drop box with envelopes provided.
I have more than one student at a school. Do I have to write separate checks?
No. You can write one check to Mounds View Schools. Please make sure each student's name and PIN are on the check. Indicate the amount that is to be deposited into each account.
I have children at different schools. Do I have to write separate checks?
Yes.
My child brings lunch from home and only needs milk from school. How do they purchase milk only?
Please add a prepayment into your students' meal account to purchase milk only. Ala Carte milk costs $0.60.
Can my student purchase other items using his/her PIN, such as a snack or a double portion of a meal?
Middle and high school students have additional food available to purchase Ala Carte if they have money in their accounts. Double portions of the offered entree and grain may also be purchased with a positive account balance. Please view our 2024-2025 Ala Carte items for price details.
What if I do not want my student to make purchases, including Ala Carte and/or an Extra Entree, beyond the reimbursable school breakfast or lunch meal?
You can call the Nutrition Services office at 651-621-6025, or email nutritionservices@mvpschools.org to add a spending limit to your student's account for purchasing extra items.
My student has a milk intolerance. What should I do?
The parent/guardian will email nutritionservices@mvpschools.org or call 651-621-6074 to contact a Nutrition Services Supervisor indicating their student would like the milk substitute, vanilla soymilk.
My student has a food allergy. What should I do?
The Special Diet Accommodations tab below includes frequently asked questions, the two options for school meals while managing a food allergy, and our department’s special diet procedure. Contact Traci.Donahoe@mvpschools.org for additional information.
My student has left the school district or graduated. Can I receive the balance left in their lunch account?
Yes, you can complete the meal account request form to request a refund or balance transfer for your students account balance.
Can I make a donation?
Yes, donations are accepted year round. Funds will be deposited into the school’s Angel Fund account. The Angel fund is a fund designated for households experiencing financial hardship and to assist with nutrition related costs. Click HERE for a form to complete and mail your donation check to: District Center Attn. Nutrition Services 4570 Victoria St. N., Shoreview, MN 55126. Checks can be made out to Mounds View Schools.
What is the unpaid meal charge and debt collection procedure?
Breakfast and lunch menus are planned by the Nutrition Services Supervisor and site managers. Input for these menus is received from many sources including students, parents, Nutrition Services staff, school staff and other school districts. All menus are planned to meet or exceed the meal pattern requirements for breakfast and lunch established by the USDA.
What are the meal pattern requirements?
The lunch and breakfast meal pattern requirements outlined for all school districts are determined by the USDA under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The portions served provide at least one third of the RDA for key nutrients. Our online LINQ menus provide nutritional information for the food we offer as part of a breakfast and lunch. Everyday at all Mounds View Public Schools, students are welcome to select more fruits and vegetables than what is required to be offered in part as a measure to fill everyone’s bellies and get them ready to learn.
Are reusable dishes used in school lunchrooms?
As a general rule, Nutrition Services utilizes reusable plastic serving trays in all District schools to serve students lunch. For environmental reasons, Nutrition Services staff try to refrain from using disposable dishes whenever possible, but there are occasions where disposable trays may be utilized. A kitchen may use disposable trays if there is an issue with the dishwashing equipment preventing dishes from being washed safely per health department requirements. Additionally, if there is a temporary shortage of kitchen personnel, work is prioritized so that serving lines are staffed before the dish-washing room. The majority of school waste is paper, therefore our waste company processes our trash through incineration. This is an energy-producing system rather than sending waste into landfills.
“National Farm to School Network has a vision of a strong and just food system for all, and we seek deep transformation toward this vision through farm to school – the ways kids eat, grow, and learn about food in schools and early care and education settings.”
All students (Preschool - Grade 12) are offered one breakfast meal and one lunch meal at no cost each school day, due to the Minnesota Free School Meals Program.
Student Meals - Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and High School:
Breakfast meal: $0.00
Lunch meal: $0.00
Adult Meals:
Adult Breakfast: $2.40
Adult Lunch: $5.00
Ala Carte Items for purchase:
Milk: $0.60 (If your student brings a lunch from home and purchases milk, or if your student would like a second carton of milk with their meal)
Questions or Assistance with LINQ Connect? - Email support@linq.com or call 1-888-464-5467 (press option 1 for LINQ nutrition, then option 1 for LINQ Connect)
Click here to view How-To Guides to walk you through how to set up a LINQ Connect account, add your student, view transaction history, and more.
Questions about your students meal account? Contact Nutrition Services Department -Email nutritionservices@mvpschools.org or call 651-621-6025
If you would like to add a spending limit to your student's meal account, Email nutritionservices@mvpschools.org or call 651-621-6025
*To make cash or check (made out to ISD #621 Nutrition Services) payments, use your school's cafeteria money drop box. Include your student's name and pin number on the envelope containing your payment.
Meal Account Refunds or Balance Transfers
If your student has graduated or left the school district with funds remaining in their school meal account, you can:
If your student's fund balance is less than $5 and you would like a refund, please call 651-621-6025 to pick it up at the District Center.
Funds remaining in your student's account at the end of each school year will roll over to the next school year. Unclaimed funds after graduating or leaving the school district will automatically be transferred to the Mounds View Public School's Angel Fund.
Nutrition Services accepts donations as a safety net for students in grades K-12 who do not have sufficient funds in their accounts due to family circumstances beyond their control.
Using these funds for students is a temporary solution until other arrangements can be made to assist the child and family on a more permanent basis. Students must be referred to Nutrition Services by a principal, teacher or other staff member before any funds can be transferred. No student is denied a meal, regardless of the status of the family’s account balance.
Tax-deductible donations for meal account balance debt relief are accepted year-round from individuals or groups. Checks should be made out to Mounds View Public Schools. Please indicate if you would like to remain anonymous in the School Board minutes. You may also make a donation directly to your child's school.
Contributions should be dropped off or mailed to:
Nutrition Services
4570 Victoria Street North
Shoreview, MN, 55126
Meal Account Procedures
All students have access to meals regardless of their account balance.
Mounds View Public Schools, in collaboration with EcoConsilium, recycles our food waste for animal feed instead of sending it to landfills.
The Nutrition Services team and students put food scraps into a green waste bin for animal feed, separate from the blue recycling bin and grey garbage bin. Our students have become pros at separating!
The food waste is transported to farms and fed to pigs, reducing the quantity of garbage produced by our district.
For more information, please watch this video about the Food to Hog program by Hennepin County's Environmental and Energy Department:
The Mounds View Nutrition Services Department will provide special diet meals for students following our Special Diet Procedure, which starts with a Special Diet Statement completed by your physician.
Nutrition Services district office must receive a completed Special Diet Statement before any dietary accommodations are made.
The Special Diet Statement is a form which provides information about the student, the disability for which the diet must be modified, defines which foods are to be omitted and substituted and is signed by a licensed physician, physician assistant or advanced nurse practitioner.
Please contact the Nutrition Service department at 651-621-6074 or email at nutritionservices@mvpschools.org with any additional questions.
Please be advised that the nutritional and ingredient information on our website is general information and not intended to be used as medical advice. We make every effort to provide accurate information. However, we do not guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional or ingredient information since ingredients may change at any time without notice by the manufacturer.
FAQs:
What if my student can not drink cow's milk?
The parent/ guardian can write a note and send it to the school kitchen manager or nurse, or email a note to nutritionservices@mvpschools.org to indicate their student would like the milk substitute, vanilla soymilk.
What if my student has a tree nut or peanut allergy?
You do not need to request a special diet. The elementary menu does not have products that contain tree nuts or peanuts. Secondary schools offer packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, along with packaged items containing peanuts and tree nuts for sale in Ala Carte.
What if my student has a different allergy/allergies?
Choice #1 - Your family may utilize our online menus to filter by allergen and work with your student(s) to help them know what to self-select from the options that are available. Here are instructions to filter by allergen. The Nutrition Services Department is unable to aid students in self-selecting or monitor tray contents for students choosing to self-select from the main line.
Choice #2 - You will need your physician to complete a Special Diet Statement prior to receiving a prepared special diet meal. In this instance, your family will order meals in advance and your student will not go through the lunch line or self-select. For more information, please view our Special Diet Procedure, our two Special Diet Menus below, or call Traci Donahoe at 651-621-6074.
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, which 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 via one of the following methods:
Mail: US Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
