Food Services

Hello Unit 40 Families,

Welcome to a brand new school year! I’m Ryan Elsasser, your Food Service Director, here to share a few important reminders about our breakfast and lunch programs for 2025–2026.

Thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision, all Unit 40 students can continue to enjoy breakfast and basic lunch at no cost again this year! We’re proud to help every student stay fueled and ready to learn.

A quick reminder: because of this program, we can’t allow negative account balances for extra items. If your student’s account doesn’t have funds, they won’t be able to purchase extra milks, extra portions, or access the high school à la carte lines until their balance is positive.

At EHS, Lines 1 & 2 are free lunch options — Lines 3–5 are à la carte. Students can easily check their meal account balance on their school-issued laptop. If there’s not enough in the account for à la carte purchases, they’ll be asked to choose from Lines 1 or 2 instead.

We recently upgraded our meal payment software to make it easier for families to manage accounts through the Parent Portal. There’s a small convenience fee for online payments, but you can always send cash or a check with your student to avoid that cost.

And don’t forget — we open for breakfast every morning at 7:30 AM with new menu options to help students start the day strong. We truly believe learning happens best on a full stomach!

If you ever have ideas or suggestions for our menus, please reach out anytime at [email protected].

It’s a privilege to serve your family and help our students thrive — here’s to a healthy, happy year ahead!

Ryan Elsasser
Food Service Director, Unit 40 Schools

Mission