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

Food Services Online Platform Update

TCAPS Food Service has switched their online platform from Send Money to School to Family Portal, for adding money to your children's food service accounts. If you have any questions please click on the tutorials link when you enter the Family Portals link. 
 

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.

TCAPS Announces Sponsorship of The Summer Food Service Program for Children

Free meals will be made available to children 18 years of age and under or persons up to age 26 who are enrolled in an educational program for the mentally or physically disabled that is recognized by a State or local public educational agency. The meals will be provided without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at the site listed below, Monday-Thursday from June 27th through August 11th: 

 

  • Traverse Heights Elementary School
    933 Rose Street
    Traverse City MI 49686

    Breakfast: 8:00am-8:45am
    Lunch: 11:50am-12:50p

*Closed July 4th & July 5th

If you will be traveling this summer, please use the Meet Up and Eat Up Site Locator to find a meal location nearby.

MDHHS & MDE Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) Program

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has partnered with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) by creating the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) Program. Students who are eligible for free and reduced paid meals may qualify for additional P-EBT benefits for the months of September through December if the student was absent from school due to COVID-19 or was learning remotely during the month(s).

Important information:

  • P-EBT benefits are only available for free/reduced students.
  • P-EBT benefits are automatically issued for any month your school has virtual or hybrid learning.
  • The program includes any month(s) that benefits were NOT issued.
  • If your student did not have access to school meals during the month listed (ie: was out ill or had to quarantine) you may be eligible for additional benefits.
    • Request a “proof document” by emailing Keri McCumber in the TCAPS business office at mccumberke@tcaps.net by Friday, June 24, 2022, so it can be returned to you in time to submit to MDHHS. Please be sure to include the student name, birthdate and school location.
    • You must submit the proof document and reconsideration form to MDHHS by Wednesday, June 30, 2022.

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.

Now Hiring

Would you like a fun and well paying job that aligns with your children's school hours?  Food Service is in critical need of additional staff and we would love to have you on our team. The schedule allows you to be at all of your children's school events and to be off on holidays and snow days with your children. If that sounds like something that would work for you,  please fill out an application at https://www.tcaps.net/jobs/ .

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.

 

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. 

TCAPS Food & Nutrition Services is proud to be working with local food vendors this year.  We would like to recognize these area businesses and look forward to future partnerships.

  • Aunt Millie's Bakery
  • Farm to Freezer Northwest Michigan
  • Food Rescue
  • Louie's Meats, Inc.
  • MI Farm Coop
  • Norconk Farms
  • Pepsi
  • Prairie Farms

stafford smith, Inc. logo

grand traverse refrigeration, Inc logohobart

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:

  1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
  3. email: program.intake@usda.gov

 This institution is an equal opportunity provider.