The meal requirements served by schools are set and monitored by the USDA. These meals are referred to as type-A meals. They are healthy and nutritious meals which include the following components; protein, grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy.

The District's elementary schools are served a complete type-A meal which we prepare at the central kitchen located in the middle/high school building. These type-A meals are served to each student by district cafeteria employees.

Will my child be fed if I forget to put money on the account?
Students enrolled at LCUSD#12 do not currently pay for meals. We have been participating in a program from ISBE since 2023 that offers free breakfast and lunch to all students in the district. There is no need to worry about money on your account for elementary students. All students will receive a free breakfast and lunch.

Wellness Guidelines and Philosophy
Due to the wellness guidelines that have been required by the state, many of the sandwich and snack items are not available to the middle school, which includes soda. The state has approved a list of healthy options (snacks & drinks) which the students have accepted and now look forward to purchasing each day. When your child enters the high school, he/she should be ready to make responsible eating choices. We encourage the tray meals, but know our children are turning into young adults and at this time are given more opportunities for choice.

Why do we participate in the Federal Lunch Program? Why serve "Type A"?
Thanks to federal, state and local partnerships, school food service programs offer a variety of well-balanced, nutritious meals at a cost much lower than a lunch of equal nutritional value brought from home of bought in a restaurant. Litchfield Schools also receive a variety of commodity foods such as lean ground beef, chicken, turkey roasts, deli turkey, grain and many other products from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Often, these commodity foods are of higher quality than what you buy in retail grocery stores. We also receive funds from the Department of Defense to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, we encourage the tray meals to increase the participation in the National School Lunch Programs. We receive Federal and State funds for each Type A student meal we serve. This reimbursement allows us to offer ALL tray meals at a lower cost to students than what it actually costs us to produce.