Beginning Monday, September 28, 2026, families will no longer place lunch orders in advance. The District will order meals for each school, and any student who wants a school lunch will receive one, every day, whether or not anything was submitted ahead of time.

School meals remain free for every student under California Universal Meals. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to pay.

---

TL;DR

• The District will not be moving to app-based ordering.
• There is no more ordering ahead. The lunch order form goes away.
• Look at the menu with your child and decide together whether they will get a school lunch.
• Every child who comes through the lunch line is served, at no cost.
• Some days a child's first choice will run out, but every child gets a meal.
• Children with documented allergies or dietary needs still have a meal set aside for them every day.

---

Why are we changing the initial plan of using the Ordo app?

The numbers tell an exciting story! 

• Neil Cummins: approximately 180 meals per day in 2025–26 → over 300 meals per day this week
• The Cove: approximately 90 meals per day in 2025–26 → over 185 meals per day this week
• Hall Middle: approximately 50 meals per day in 2025–26 → over 170 meals per day this week

With this significant increase, we have learned that managing individual pre-orders for this many students requires considerably more staff time and administrative support than our current Child Nutrition program is structured to provide. Our previous lunch provider offered as many as seven different meal choices each day, making advance ordering important for meal planning and preparation. Ordo's program is much simpler, with two primary menu choices offered each day, allowing students to easily make their selection when they come through the lunch line. We will continue to plan carefully for our growing participation and, of course, will continue to accommodate students with documented food allergies and dietary needs.

What changes for you

The lunch order form goes away. You will not need to submit selections for the coming weeks, and there is no deadline to remember. Menus will continue to be posted on the District website as well as in school weeklies so you and your child can see what is being served. Students will choose between a meat entree and a vegetarian entree at the serving line.

At Neil Cummins and The Cove, to get a school lunch, your child will pick up a laminated lunch ID card from a rack at school or, in kindergarten through second grade, from their classroom teacher, and hand it to nutrition services staff at the beginning of the lunch line. If your child has documented dietary accommodations, a meal option will be available to them every day.

At Hall Middle, students will continue to go through the cafeteria line and give their name at the point of service station.  Students will also have the option to choose either a meat entree or a vegetarian entree. Students with documented dietary accommodations will have a meal option set aside and available to them each day.

What we need from you

Until now, the lunch order and the classroom ticket told your child, and the adults with them, that a school lunch was waiting for them. Without them, that cue now comes from home. This matters most for our youngest students, who often do not remember what is in their backpack by the time lunch arrives.

In kindergarten through second grade, the classroom will have a laminated lunch ID card for each student who wants a school lunch. Students take their card to the serving line and the cards come back to the classroom afterward, so a child who is unsure still has a way to get a meal.

Please talk with your child each morning about whether they have a lunch from home or will be picking up a school lunch, and give them a way to remember the answer. Here are a few ideas that may help:

A note in the backpack. A small card or note your child can check, or that a teacher can check with them.

Label snacks as snacks. If you send snacks along with a school lunch day, marking them clearly keeps a child from mistaking a snack for their lunch.

Keep a routine. If your child packs on the same days each week, they learn the pattern quickly.

Tell the teacher if plans change. A quick note on a day that is different from the usual is enough.

What will not change

No student is turned away from a school lunch. A student who brought food from home and still wants a school meal may take one. A student who is not sure whether they packed should go ahead and get a school lunch. We would far rather have a child have a meal in front of them than go without while the question is sorted out.

Allergies and dietary needs

We will share the food allergies and dietary needs already in your child's Aeries student record with our meal vendor and lunch staff. If your child's information is missing or has changed, please contact Lara Dillon, Child Nutrition Services Technician, LDillon@lcmschools.org so we can update it.

Questions

Please reach out to Lara Dillon, Child Nutrition Services Technician, LDillon@lcmschools.org  with any questions about the meal program. We appreciate your partnership as we make this change, and we expect the first few weeks to take some getting used to for all of us.

Warmly,

Meg

Dr. Megan Atkins

District Business Official

Larkspur-Corte Madera School District