Child Nutrition Services contributes to all Wake County Public School students' academic success by providing nutritious meals with quality service at an affordable price. For more information, contact us at (919) 856-2918.

Food safety and sanitation

School dining rooms are inspected more often than other places that serve food because they serve children. Middle and high schools are inspected three times a year. Elementary schools are inspected four times a year. Check out the sanitation score of your child's school lunchroom.

Nutritional quality

Nutrition standards for school meals are aligned with the latest nutrition science. Age-appropriate meals are designed for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 based on the meal pattern established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and dietary specifications including limits on fats, sodium, and calories. We perform a nutrient analysis using specially developed software for school meal programs and we adapt our menus to reflect the recent nutritional guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Our school meals initiatives focus on the improvement of student health and enhanced ability to learn through better nutrition. Meals are made fresh daily and we offer a variety of appetizing choices that include quality proteins such as 100% beef and whole-muscle chicken, low-fat dairy, an assortment of fruits and vegetables and more whole grains. Download our digital Farm to School magazine featuring the nutrition and wellness benefits of several food items that are seen throughout the year in the school lunch service.

Support of local farms

Strawberries, watermelons, cantaloupes, apples, grapes, peaches, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, broccoli and blueberries that are grown on North Carolina farms are served in our dining rooms throughout the year. Our participation in the North Carolina Farm to School Program gives students the opportunity to enjoy locally grown produce. The N.C. Department of Agriculture program supports local agriculture opening an additional market for North Carolina farmers. Download our digital Farm to School magazine to learn more about NC products and NC farms. Learn more about the North Carolina Farm to School Program [VIDEO].

Offer vs. serve

Students are encouraged to take what they want and to eat what they take. Offer vs Serve is a meal option that allows students to make food choices and minimize waste. Students are offered a "meal" consisting of a certain number of components; however, students may choose to decline certain components and still be served a complete meal that qualifies them to pay the combination meal price.

At lunch, students must take at least three of the five components - meat or meat alternative, fruit, vegetable, grain and milk - and one must be a fruit or a vegetable serving in order to be charged the combination meal price. At breakfast, students must take at least three of the four items offered, and only one must be a fruit or vegetable serving. Some food items may contain more than one component. For example, lasagna is meat, bread/grain and vegetable.

Students that take less than the required components must pay the a la carte price for those items because the U.S. Department of Agriculture will not subsidize the cost of the incomplete meal.

Other general rules:

• Students must take at least ½ cup serving of the fruit or vegetable component or a combination of ¼ cup fruit and ¼ cup vegetables.
• Students may take two ¼ cup servings of the same item - fruit or vegetable - to meet the requirement.
• Cashiers will remind students that they have an incomplete meal before charging a la carte prices. 
• WCPSS offers more fruits and vegetables daily than is required. Students may take all side choices as part of the meal except that a maximum of 2 fruits is permitted when an assortment of fresh fruits is offered. Students must still receive the required meal components to qualify for the combination meal price.

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