Hot Lunch FAQ

A service provided by the PTA, the Hot Lunch Program at Covington serves a varied menu of lunches to participating students Monday through Friday each week. While a convenience to parents, it also generates much-needed funds to support Covington PTA programs. The Hot Lunch Program is extremely popular with the students and we look forward to your participation this year.

How does it work?

The school year is divided into three Hot Lunch sessions.

* Session 1 - September 8 through November 20, 2009
* Session 2 - November 30, 2009 through March 12, 2010
* Session 3 - March 15 through June 3, 2010

Each Hot Lunch day has a pre-set menu of 2 entrée options, fresh fruit and drinks. This menu rotates on a two-week cycle. You indicate on the online order form which Hot Lunch days and how many of the items presented on those days you wish to order. That same grouping of items is then served to your child on alternating weeks throughout the session. You can check the dates on the order form, on the Hot Lunch Calendar, and print a calendar of your child's order after it is placed. Because there is no lunch period on minimum days, we will not be serving Hot Lunch on those days.

What food is offered for Hot Lunches?

We have selected restaurants and menus that have proven successful at Covington in past years or at other Los Altos School District elementary schools. Each session's menu are carefully selected to follow the federal, state and district nutrition guidelines. Listed below are the local vendors providing the entrées this session.

Estrellita, 971 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos

Pasta Market, 4546 El Camino Real, Los Altos

Skip's Pizza, 299 First Street, Los Altos

Chef Chu's, 1067 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos

House of Bagels, 1712 D Miramonte Avenue, Mountain View

Subway, 809 Cuesta Road, Mountain View

Sumo's 355 State St., Los Altos

We urge you to try the food before you order by visiting the restaurants that will be providing the lunches. Please note that sizes and quantities are not necessarily the same as when you order from the restaurant's regular menu. Many vendors offer special sizes and pricing for school lunch programs.

What about the fresh fruit and drinks?

On most days we will serve fresh fruit and a choice of drinks. Washed, whole or cut fruit is offered as part of the meal Monday through Thursday. Fruit is provided by the entrée vendors or DeMartini's Orchard.

Students may choose from the following drink selections:

Mondays and Tuesdays - 1% white milk, 1% chocolate milk, or water

Wednesdays and Thursdays - 1% white milk, 1% chocolate milk, or fruit juices

Fridays - Odwalla Fruit Smoothie Blends will be the only drink choice

Please check the menu for the Odwalla flavor offered each week. The Hot Lunch volunteers will not police fruit and drink choices. Therefore, it is important for parents to discuss their fruit and drink preferences with each child.

How do I order?

From the Hot Lunch page, which is part of the Back to School Package on the Covington website, you can follow the instructions on the Hot Lunch Quick Guide. When you have entered your child's lunch preferences on the Hot Lunch Order Form, click "Process Order". You can then review your selections and go back if you need to make corrections. When you think you have completed your order click the "Submit Order" button.

No order is complete until payment has been received. If you have not yet paid for your order and you find you have made a mistake or your child has changed their mind, simply disregard the old order and enter a new one. When your order is ready, return to the Hot Lunch page to enter your child's name, order number and total amount of the order to the Google Shopping Cart For multiple Hot Lunch orders, add each one to the cart separately. You may print a copy of your order as a reference.

If you do not have access to a computer or cannot use one, either use the computer at the public library or call one of the Hot Lunch Committee members. We will be happy to place your online order for you.

How do I pay for my order(s)?

There are three ways to pay for your order(s): 1) by credit card with Google Checkout, 2) by check with other items on the printout of your shopping cart, or 3) by check for just your Hot Lunch order(s) Orders and payments are due by 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 26.

To pay by credit card: When you have added all your Hot Lunch order information to your cart and have finished your other shopping, click the "View Cart" button and follow the instructions to Google Checkout.

To pay by check with other items: Add all your items to your cart along with all your Hot Lunch information. Click the "View Cart" button and print a copy of your shopping cart page to attach to your check made payable to Covington PTA.

To pay for just you Hot Lunch order(s): A check for the total amount of your order(s) should be made payable to Covington PTA. Please write your order number(s) as a memo on your check. You may drop your Hot Lunch payment in the "Hot Lunch" box in the school office or mail payments to the school in time to be received by the payment deadline.

How do I keep track of what days my child has Hot Lunches?

At the bottom of the Hot Lunch page, click under Important Links - "Review your Hot Lunch Order". From this page you can display either your order page or a calendar with just your child's order.

How can I help?

At lunchtime, teachers will lead participating students to the multi-purpose room to pick up their lunches. Each Hot Lunch day requires on average 5 to 6 parent volunteers to ensure students are served in a reasonable amount of time. If you have 45 minutes free from 11:30 to 12:15 once every three weeks, consider joining a Hot Lunch Crew. Parent volunteers not only provide a service to the school but also find it's a great way to meet other parents and socialize. If you would like to help serve lunch, fill out the volunteer portion at the end of the online order form, sign up at the classroom volunteer meeting on Friday, August 21 or contact us directly. Contact information is given below.

Another way you can help is to participate in the scholarship program. There are a few students in our school who are unable to afford a lunch. By adding one or more $10.00 or $25.00 scholarships to your order you are helping us to provide lunches at cost for these children.

What about missed lunches due to field trips or illness?

Unfortunately, we pre-order a set quantity of food from our vendors at the beginning of each session and cannot refund you for missed meals. Missed lunches due to illness can be picked up at the multi-purpose room between 11:45 and 12:00 by a parent or sibling. On field trip days, teachers try to accommodate hot lunch by arriving back from field trips in time for lunch. If not, they sometimes make arrangements to have lunches held and distribute them upon return. If neither is the case, please consider the missed lunch a donation to the school.

What if my child forgets to bring lunch?

In order to keep costs down, extra lunches are not routinely ordered. Please do not send your child to school without a lunch thinking they will be given an extra one. If your child does not have a lunch, he/she will be asked to call you to bring a lunch or be given a granola bar or cheese and crackers unless there happens to be a leftover lunch due to an absence. We do not want any child to go without something to eat. Unfortunately, a pattern sometimes emerges when a child would rather have the hot lunch entrée instead of their packed lunch. If this happens, we will notify you and you may be charged for the lunches, if it continues.

What if I have more questions?

All information related to the Hot Lunch Program can be found here on the Covington website at www.covingtonschool.org. It includes the hot lunch menu and calendar. More entrée descriptions and prices can be found on the Order Form. If you can't find your answers here, please call one of us:

Ordering - Kenna Fenton 948-2986 kenna@employees.org
Vendor info - Rachel Botsford 947-0718 rachel.botsford@sbcglobal.net
Volunteer info - Val Nichols 941-5023 valerie_nichols@mac.com

Thank you in advance for your order. We sincerely hope you and your children enjoy participating in this program.

Hot Lunch Committee 2009-2010

 

 

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