Food Services - Orange-Ulster BOCES

Katherine Lynch, MPH, RD, CDN
Food Service Director
845-291-0100, Ext. 10642

What's for Lunch? Click here for this month's menu.

NO COST Breakfast, Lunch Available to All STUDENTS

Orange-Ulster BOCES recognizes that students need adequate nourishing food in order to grow, learn and maintain health, and we are committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle. We meet or exceed nutritional standards as provided by state and federal regulations and as required by the National School Lunch Program and we give priority to serving a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, promoting healthy eating patterns.

Breakfast and lunch will continue to be available at no charge for all students. Participation in state and federal programs requires ongoing effort and we are proud to have secured this benefit for the 2025-2026 school year, ensuring continued access to nutritious meals for our students.

Participating Sites

Amy Bull Crist Center, 53 Gibson Road, Goshen
OUB Regional Education Center (Arden), 4 Harriman Dr., Goshen
OUB at Marlboro, 62 Overlook Dr., Newburgh
OUB at 129 West Main St., Goshen
OUB at 227 Main St., Goshen
Pine Island Elementary, 22 Schoolhouse Road, Pine Island

Students attending the above locations will receive breakfast and lunch daily in accordance with the dietary guidelines established by New York State. All meals are prepared following the USDA school breakfast and lunch meal patterns for 2025-2026 and served at no cost through NYSED and CEP qualification and participation.

Staffed by OUB Students

Serving coffee, snacks and salads
8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Monday - Friday
(Closed 11 a.m. -12 p.m.)

Food Service Dept. Parent Letter

Allergies and Special Dietary Needs

Reasonable Modification:

Any meal modifications must be documented by a physician's prescription or registered dietitian indicating the dietary restriction and the specific accommodations required.

To protect students with severe allergies and to promote a safe and healthy environment, food sharing will not be permitted. Please know that this policy does not restrict the food you send with your child for their personal consumption during mealtimes. As always, the health and well- being of our students remain our highest priority.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Katherine Lynch, School Food Service Director at katherine.lynch@ouboces.org I 845-291 -0100 ext. I0642

Meal Service to Children with Disabilities

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) aim to provide all participating children, regardless of background, with the nutritious meals they need to be healthy. This includes ensuring children with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the NSLP and SBP.

Federal regulations require schools and institutions to serve meals at no extra charge to those children whose disability restricts their diet in such a way that they cannot fully participate in the food service program without some modification to the foods offered or the scheduled menu. If you believe your child needs substitutions because of a disability, please get in touch with us for further information. You must request meal modifications from the school and provide the school with a medical statement from a State licensed healthcare professional. This medical statement must contain but is not limited to the following:

Information about the child's physical or mental impairment that is sufficient to allow the school to understand how it restricts the child's diet,
An explanation of what must be done to accommodate the child's special dietary need,
The food or foods to be omitted and recommended alternatives, in the case of a modified meal

Community Eligibility Provision

Orange-Ulster BOCES will be implementing a meal certification option available to schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs for 2025-2026 school year.

What does this mean for your child(ren) attending the school(s) identified above?

All students enrolled at Orange Ulster BOCES locations at: Amy Bull Crist Center, Including Communities, Main Street, Marlboro, Pine Island Elementary, and Regional Education Center are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge to your household each day of the 2025-2026 school year. No further action is required of you. Your child(ren) will be able to participate in these meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit an application.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at 845-291-0100 ext 10642.

USDA Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program | Middlehope and Pine Island Elementary

Students in grades 1-5 at Middlehope and Pine Island Elementary Schools have been awarded a grant to take part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) for the 2025-26 school year. Primary School students in grades 1- 5 have received a grant to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) for the 2025-26 school year.

The goals of this grant program are to:

Create healthier school environments by offering healthy choices.
Expand the variety of fruits and vegetables children experience.
Increase children's fruit and vegetable consumption.
Make a difference in children's diets to impact their current and future health

Beginning the week of Sept. 15, students in grades 1-5 will be offered a fresh fruit or vegetable to try twice weekly. FFVP snacks will generally be served outside your child's regularly scheduled lunch time.

Participating classrooms will be provided with supplemental nutrition education material to increase students' knowledge of the health benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. The FFVP is an excellent way to supplement other wellness programs in our schools that promote health, nutrition, and physical activity.

You can support your student's efforts to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption in many ways. For example:

Take your student grocery shopping. Let your student select a new fruit or veggie to try.
Give your student options! Let your student choose which veggie to serve at dinner.
Keep fruits and vegetables where your student can see them, such as on the counter.
Take your student to a local farmers' market and discover fruits and vegetables in season.
Be a role model! Let your child see you regularly eating fruits and veggies.

Dept. of Agriculture Civil Rights Compliance | Nondiscrimination 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: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, 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 Ave., 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.

Printable Parent Letter

Meal Charge and Prohibition | Meal Shaming Policy

The goal of the Orange Ulster BOCES is to provide student access to nutritious no- or low-cost meals each school day and to ensure that a pupil whose parent/guardian has unpaid school meal fees is not shamed or treated differently than a pupil whose parent/guardian does not have unpaid meal fees. Unpaid charges place a large financial burden on our school. The purpose of this policy is to insure compliance with federal requirements for the USDA Child Nutrition Program and, and to provide oversight and accountability for the collection of outstanding student meal balances to ensure that the student is not stigmatized, distressed or embarrassed. The intent of this policy is to establish procedures to address unpaid meal charges throughout the Orange Ulster BOCES in a way that does not stigmatize, distress or embarrass students. The provisions of this policy pertain to regular priced reimbursable school breakfast, lunch and snack meals only. The Orange Ulster BOCES provides this policy as a courtesy to those students in the event that they forget or lose their money. Charging of items outside of the reimbursable meals (a la carte items, adult meals, etc.) is expressly prohibited.

Free Meal Benefit: Eligible students will be allowed to receive a free breakfast and lunch meal of their choice each day. A la carte items or other similar items must be paid/prepaid.
Reduced Meal Benefit: Eligible students will be allowed to receive a breakfast and a lunch meal of their choice at no charge. A la carte items or other similar items must be paid/prepaid.
Full Pay Students: Students will pay for meals at the school’s published paid meal rate each day. The charge meals offered to students will be reimbursable meals available to all students, unless the student’s parent or guardian has specifically provided written permission to the school to withhold a meal. A la carte items or other similar items must be paid/prepaid.

Healthy Resources

Keep Food Safe! Food Safety Basics
Eat Smart NY
Dietary Guidelines
Information from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service about eating healthy by varying your veggies

Full plate divided into sections for fruit, grains, vegetables, protein with dairy serving

MyPlate is a visual reminder to choose a variety of foods throughout the day and throughout the week.
It represents what and how much to eat from each food group over the course of the day,
whether you eat on a plate, from a bowl, or another way.

Main Menu

Explore More

In This Section