HISD provides nutritious meals to all students, including those who require special diets due to medical reasons (i.e., disability, allergies, etc.). Therefore, the Texas Department of Agriculture requires that the district maintain an updated diet order on file before providing these special dietary accommodations.

To ensure that your child receives the food he/she needs to fulfill the recommended diet, please ask your doctor to complete the Physicians Request for Special Dietary Accommodations form and send to the school nurse. Please ensure that it is completely filled out with all the required information so Nutrition Services can promptly process the request and begin dietary accommodations as soon as possible.

 Before accommodations can occur, the Texas Department of Agriculture requires the following information must be present on the Physicians Request for Special Dietary Accommodations form: 

• Student’s name, date of birth and school attended
• Part B completely filled out
• Medical condition provided
• Foods to be omitted, texture modifications, and supplement to be supplied for disabled students
• Physicians name, signature, phone number, address and date

HISD requires that the Physicians Request for Special Dietary Accommodations form is updated every school year or whenever a change in diet is required. Accommodations are considered ONLY for those students requiring a change in diet based on medical need. Special dietary accommodations will not be made without the appropriate medical documentation.

Any necessary menu accommodations will be communicated by the Nutrition Services’ Dietitian to the school nurse and cafeteria manager. Please allow several days for processing and ordering of food. It is recommended that the guardian send a meal from home until the necessary accommodations are in place.

Students Requiring Supplements

HISD Nutrition Services is excited to announce the introduction of a formulary list for dietary supplements. If your child requires oral or internal supplemental nutrition, please take the Physician Request for Special Dietary Accommodations form to your child's physician for completion and return completed forms to your school nurse for processing.

Religious Requests

From time to time we receive requests for special individualized diet plans to meet the personal, non-medical preferences of our families. Nutrition Services only provides special dietary accommodations for students with a valid medical condition. We are not able to accommodate students for religious preferences or reasons. Although it is not feasible to meet everyone’s particular needs by providing individual diet plans, this information may be helpful to you when making school meal choices for your family. Please see additional information regarding our menus below:

• The menus do offer some vegetarian entrée options and we are working to increase the variety of options available.
• Vegetarian, whole grain, and heart healthy items are identified on the menu with special icons.
• All of our sausage or ham products are 100% turkey, chicken, or beef and contains no pork.

Contact Nutrition Services Dietitians

NSSPECIALDIETS@houstonisd.org

(P) 713-556-2937
(F) 713-491-5998

HISD Nutrition Services takes great care in planning menus that meet the nutritional needs of our students.

We strive to serve healthy schools meals following established strategies for menu planning and preparation as it relates to optimal nutrition:

• • increase whole grains

  • increase offerings of dark green/orange fruits & vegetables
  • increase offerings of legumes
  • increase fiber
  • increase variety in fruit & vegetables offered
  • reduce sodium
  • increase calcium
  • decrease processed foods
  • eliminate trans fats
  • decrease sugar

  Email our nutritionists for more information.

A local school wellness policy (“wellness policy”) is a written document that guides a school district’s efforts to establish a school environment that promotes students’ health, well-being, and ability to learn.

The wellness policy requirement was established by the Child Nutrition and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act of 2004 and further strengthened by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA). It requires each school district participating in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program to develop a wellness policy and implementation plan.  The responsibility for developing, implementing, and evaluating a wellness policy is placed at the local level, so the unique needs of each school under the school districts jurisdiction can be addressed. At HISD it is the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) that oversees development and assessment of the district wellness policy and plan.

The USDA requires School Districts to conduct an assessment of the wellness policy at least every three years. This assessment will determine:

• Compliance with the Wellness Policy and Plan;
• How the Wellness Policy compares to model wellness policies; and
• Progress made in attaining the goals of the wellness policy year to year.

School wellness policies are required to include:

• Specific goals for nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness.
• Standards and nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages sold to students on the school campus during the school day that are consistent with federal regulations for:
• School meal nutrition standards; and
• Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards.
• Standards for all foods and beverages provided, but not sold, to students during the school day (e.g., in classroom parties, classroom snacks brought by parents, or other foods given as incentives).
• Policies for food and beverage marketing that allow marketing and advertising of only those foods and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards.
• Description of public involvement, public updates, policy leadership, and evaluation plan.

A copy of the HISD Local Wellness Policy is here:

https://www.houstonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=110798&dataid=347024&FileName=FFA_LOCAL.pdf

Find all of the school meal information you need right at your fingertips. The app and website enables you to access the most updated school menus, nutrition information for every food item offered, allergens and more from the convenience of your mobile device or computer.