TCAPS Food & Nutrition Services
Welcome to the Food & Nutrition Services department of the Traverse City Area Public Schools district. We are very proud of our operations and take pride in offering nutritious and delicious meals every day. We encourage input from all of our customers, so feel free to contact TCAPS Food & Nutrition Services Director Tom Freitas at 231.933.1911 with any ideas, suggestions or comments. We look forward to making your dining experience enjoyable.
Our Mission
The mission of TCAPS’ Food and Nutrition Services is to improve the health of students by providing flavorful and nutritious meals at an affordable cost. Our goals are to provide service to the school, to enhance the educational environment, and have a positive impact on the community.
TCAPS Wellness Policy
Meal Programs
Important Reminder:
Congress has chosen not to extend free meals for all students for the 2022-23 school year. Due to this decision, we are asking all TCAPS families to complete a free and reduced application so that if your child is eligible they can receive a free or reduced meal this coming school year. We ask all TCAPS families to complete an application whether your child would be eligible or not. All application information input is used to determine eligibility for many grants and other money that TCAPS receives.
Complete the Free and Reduced Meal Application at: 
Food Services Online Platform Update
Important Message from Food Services
Food service will begin posting the menus online to try and give families more information on what we are planning to serve. Please be aware that due to supply chain disruptions and food shortages we may have to unexpectedly substitute food items that are posted on the menu. These substitutions could change the allergies listed on the online menu. We recommend that parents or the students with allergies check with the kitchen staff daily. Changes will occasionally occur and we want to ensure that all students with allergies are kept safe. Our staff will also continue to monitor all students known to have allergies.
2022-23 Food Service News & Updates:
TCAPS Food Service will be offering meatless meal options everyday in all of our buildings. Due to supply chain disruptions this could change on some days if we are shorted any food supplies.
Meal Prices:
Breakfast:
Lunch:
A food service fact for all of our families:
TCAPS Food Service offers Michigan produce in our meals, somewhere in our district, nearly every school day of every school year.
MDHHS & MDE Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) Program
For more information, visit Michigan.gov/PEBT or call 1-833-905-0028.
Apply Today for Free & Reduced Meals
Applications should be completed each year; these applications are also used for several other grant programs in TCAPS. In addition, students who qualify for free and reduced meals also qualify for college application fee waivers and SAT/ACT fee waivers. So please submit your Free & Reduced Meals Application here.
Policy, System, & Environmental Changes (PSE) Updates
Policy, System, & Environmental Changes (PSE) Updates
December 2022
There has been tremendous progress with the district-wide and individual building wellbeing committees. Our district wellbeing coordinator has actively engaged with staff at each building, a process for proposing health initiatives has been developed by our wellbeing coordinator and approved by both the district wellbeing committee and the Executive Health and Wellbeing Committee, staff surveys have been conducted soliciting needs and wants of staff in individual buildings, and several proposed health and wellbeing initiatives were approved and are in the process of being implemented.
The Pantry to Pre-School initiative, which was funded by the Michigan Health Endowment and involved a regional collaboration, has been successfully implemented at Blair Elementary School. This collaborative initiative has strengthened the communication between individuals and organizations joined by a common cause of improving the health in the region.
November 2022
Work on the district wellbeing initiatives has been ongoing and encouraging. The Executive Health Committee, in conjunction with the district wellbeing coordinator, has designed a mission statement, a vision that encompasses and ties into the district strategic plan, and a process for anyone suggesting a health initiative to be considered. The district wellbeing coordinator has met with every building principal and discussed the importance of the members of the building wellbeing committee and their commitment. Staff surveys were distributed and the response has been excellent, giving the committee many ideas about what needs to be done to focus on staff wellbeing.
Staff have attended and participated in the Collab Lab and are using this excellent professional development to improve the collaborations within the Traverse City community.
The SNP-Al collaboration (Successful Nutrition Programs Across the Lifespan) has resulted in a fabulous result: Blair Elementary School is now a part of the Pantry to Pre-School initiative, providing food boxes to families of pre-school students bi-monthly. This involved a collaboration between multiple local and regional partners. It ties into the "Grow It, Try It, Like It" nutrition lessons by providing a healthy recipe and ingredients in the boxes for that recipe. MSU-E has provided illustrated recipes for the boxes and two pantries, Father Fred and Leelanau Christian Neighbors, have facilitated the program.
Vending Machines Offer Healthy Alternatives
Having access to healthy food items and meals outside of the normal cafeteria operating hours just got a little bit easier. TCAPS has installed two new vending machines in the cafeteria at both Central High School and West Senior High School as part of a pilot program. The vending machines contain healthy food items that meet the same federal nutrition regulations as all other food sold in the school cafeteria. Sample items include: salads, yogurt, sandwiches, fruit, granola bars, etc.
Students and staff can purchase snack items as well as meals qualifying under the Federal Free and Reduced Price School Meals Program using either cash or their meal accounts. For students who qualify for free/reduced meals, the purchase would count towards their daily meal allowance.
Food & Nutrition Services – Green Efforts
TCAPS Food & Nutrition Services takes great pride in minimizing our environmental footprint in Traverse City. In our buildings using disposables, 95% of the plates and bowls are biodegradable. We will continue to strive for 100% biodegradable product usage.
TCAPS elementary schools are moving to all online production sheets that will greatly reduce the amount of paper we use over the course of a year.
Local Food Partners
TCAPS Food & Nutrition Services is proud to be working with local food vendors this year. We would like to recognize these Michigan businesses and look forward to future partnerships with other Michigan businesses.
- Farm to Freezer Michigan
- Gordon Food Service
- Louie's Meats, Inc.
- MI Farm Coop
- Norconk Farms
- Warren Orchards
- Pepsi - Traverse City Distributorship
- Prairie Farms
Local Equipment Repair and Supply Partners
Anti-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
- mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
- fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
- email: program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Food Service Directory
Operations
Food & Nutrition Services
