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Student Dining Services
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CPS Feeds Thousands Every School Day
Cincinnati Public Schools is the nation's first large school district to offer lunches to students, starting in 1898.
For the last five years in a row, CPS' Student Dining Services Department received a Champion of School Breakfast Award from the Ohio Department of Education.
We pride ourselves on our "restaurant-style meals," such as curry chicken and gyros with tzatziki sauce, while keeping our menus healthy, culturally responsive and surpassing USDA requirements. For example, we have no fryers in our school kitchens, and we serve no pork products.
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Leading in School Nutrition — SchoolCafe School Menus
Cincinnati Public Schools menus have gone digital. You can easily view information about what is on our school menus for breakfast and lunch each day. This new innovative and interactive site, and our mobile app, make our school menus more convenient and informative.
Introducing SchoolCafe, an interactive online way to view your child’s school menus.
With SchoolCafe you can:
- View images and descriptions
- View nutrition information for each food
- Filter the menu for specific food allergens
- Rate foods and see carb counts
- Access menus with the SchoolCafe mobile app!
On your computer, visit: SchoolCafe.com
School Year Menus, along with nutrition information, specific food allergens, and carbohydrate counts, are available online and via mobile app on a smartphone.
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Student Dining Services Supply Chain Update
As school foodservice programs are making preparations to return to normal service and menus, we are facing unprecedented issues with the supply chain that will undoubtedly cause us to alter our posted menus with little to no notice.
We are working very closely with our distributors and manufacturers to secure both the food and supply items needed to support our program. However, the availability of these items has been changing on a daily basis.
While it is our intention to serve the posted menu every day at every school, supply issues will not make this possible throughout this school year until the supply chain issues are rectified.
When changes to the posted school menu become necessary, we will attempt to substitute the scheduled menu item with another that is as similar as possible, to the extent we are able to do so, based on the products we are able to receive.
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Meal Costs
Paid meals are $1.75 at elementary schools and $2.00 at secondary schools.
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Dietary, Cultural or Religious Food Restrictions Policy
Cincinnati Public Schools believes it is our responsibility to serve students with respect and dignity. CPS is aware of cultures and religions that observe customs related to diet, and we know that some students have sensitivities to certain food products.
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Other Food-Related Information
The annual Parent's Guide to CPS Student Dining Services gives parents helpful information.
- Free Summer Meals — provided to all Cincinnati children during the summer months. Guidelines and free meal locations are also provided.
- Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Program is available to children from families whose annual income is at, or below, the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines. Paper and online meal applications are available.
- Student Meal Accounts can be created using SchoolCafe. Parents can access an online account to monitor what food items their children are purchasing, replenish lunch money or set up automatic payments.
In accordance with Federal Law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call toll free (866) 632-9992 (Voice). Individuals who are hearing impaired or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339; or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish). USDA is an equal opportunity provider.