Child Nutrition
The goal of the Petal School District’s Child Nutrition Program is to provide students, teachers, and staff nutritious meals at a reasonable price and to provide unparalleled service to the students and patrons.
The National School Lunch Program is the original Child Nutrition Program. In operation since 1946, this program makes it possible for children to be served wholesome, low-cost lunches at school each day. The meals are designed to meet one-third of the daily recommended dietary allowance and contribute to children’s mental and physical development.
The Child Nutrition program also participates in the National School Breakfast Program. This program was designed to meet the needs of children who arrive at school hungry. Nutrients missed at breakfast are seldom made up at other meals. A healthy breakfast alleviates mid-morning slumps and reduces student complaints of headaches, stomach aches and trips to the school nurse.
Any student whose family qualifies according to the criteria as set forth by the national program may be eligible for free or reduced meals. Free and Reduced Meals Applications must be completed each year.
All schools in the district are equipped with Solana, a Horizon Software computer system that allows students, teachers and staff members to prepay for meals by check or cash. Parents can log in to MyPaymentsPlus and make payments by check or credit card, view the student's account history, set up auto pay and subscribe to email alerts for low balances. Please have your student's nine-digit Mississippi Student Information System (MSIS) number available to register.