Hot Lunch Program

Take a day off

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a break from making school lunches and contribute to a key Cleveland fundraiser? 

Hot lunch is served every Tuesday and the first Thursday of each month starting in October. We work with various vendors to keep the menu fresh and exciting, as well as keeping in line with our Healthy Cleveland approach. 

 

Ordering

 

Ordering Now Open Until Sunday Sep 29th!  

Don’t miss the deadline!

Hot Lunch Starts Oct 8th!

Thanks for your support!

Term 1: Runs Oct 8 – Jan 28

Term 2: Runs Feb 4 – Jun 17

 

Read the FAQs below to learn more now.

Full details on this year’s program, vendors, and when & how to order have been sent to all parents viaFreshSchools. Didn’t receive it?  Make sure you have a FreshSchools account to receive important communications.  You can read the email here.

Signing up for hot lunch is easy. Ordering is done via the Munch-a-Lunch website. Simply log in and choose which menu selections are right for you and your family. If you don’t have an account yet, you can create one.

More than lunch

The Hot Lunch Program is one of Cleveland Elementary’s most successful fundraisers and takes a lot of volunteers to keep it running. It’s a great way to help out, meet other parents, and you get to see your child at lunch time!

Volunteer


We rely on parent volunteers to help count and distribute the lunches. Each month parent volunteers from a different grade are assigned. Please sign up on Fresh Schools  to help coordinate food deliveries to each class during ‘your’ month:

Grade 1

Kindergarten

Grade 7

Grade 6

Grade 5

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 2

Open to Everyone!

If a certain month has no volunteers, we may need to cancel hot lunch that month, so please step up. And don’t worry – someone will always be there to instruct new volunteers what to do!

Any questions? Please contact your awesome Hot Lunch Coordinators at hotlunch@clevelandpac.com!

Vendors

Exciting news!  This year, we have 8 vendors providing delicious and nutritious lunches to your children.  Returning favorites:

  • Subway
  • White Spot
  • Well Fed
  • Fresh Slice
  • One More Szechuan
  • Cornella Fine Taco

** NEW ** this year:

  • Aburi Market
  • Frying Pan Express

Take a look at our vendors and the schedule of Hot Lunch Delivery for the 2024/2025 school year

*Please note upcoming events that might impact hotlunch delivery to your child:

  • Grade 6 students are away at outdoor School Nov 12-15
  • Grade 4 Outdoor School Apr 2-4

Hot Lunch FAQs

1. How does the Hot Lunch Program Work?

Hot lunch is a fundraising program brought to you by your Cleveland PAC (CPAC) and dedicated parent volunteers. We work with a selection of vendors to bring your child hot and cold lunches every Tuesday (and the first Thursday of each month). Menu items vary with each vendor, ranging in prices from $4-13.

Hot Lunch is split into 2 terms:

  • Term 1: October to January
  • Term 2: February to June

Hot lunch is not provided on Pro-D Days, stat holidays, or over winter and spring breaks.

2. What happens on Hot Lunch Day?

On the day of Hot Lunch, the vendor delivers all the lunches in boxes (for cold items) and thermo bags (for hot items) at 11:15am. Parent volunteers then unload and sort all the items into division bins. At around 11:40am, Grade 7 students arrive to take the bins to the respective classrooms.

Cleveland is a very large school – over 500 students! Imagine all the hot lunch items that need to be unloaded and sorted to make it to the classrooms on time while hot items are still warm. This is why parent volunteers are essential to this program to ensure speed, accuracy, and quality!

3. What do I need to participate in the Hot Lunch Program?

First, make sure you have a Fresh Schools account. This is a school-wide communication tool used by CPAC to send general Hot Lunch emails and notices to all parents. You will also use Fresh Schools to sign up as Hot Lunch volunteer.

Second, once ordering is open, you will need to sign in to Munch-A-Lunch. If you are new to Cleveland and don’t have an account, register here: https://munchalunch.com/schools/cleveland/

4. How does ordering work?

Ordering is open twice a year for 2 weeks:

  • Mid-September – Place your orders for Term 1
  • Mid-January – Place your orders for Term 2

It is important to remember to place your FULL order for each term, as ordering will not be reopened after the closing date.

5. How do I pay for Hot Lunch? Do I have to pay all at once?

Credit card payment is accepted on Munch-A-Lunch. If you are unable to pay all at once, you can still submit your order, but please Email our Treasurer to discuss payment plan/options ASAP.

6. What are the dietary options?

We work with vendors to provide as many options as possible to suit the most common dietary needs. Most vendors offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.

7. What if I don’t like any of the menu options? Can I skip certain weeks, and place orders for the other weeks?

You can skip vendors or weeks as desired when placing your order for the term on Munch-A-Lunch. Before submitting the final order, review fully to make sure you have placed the whole order correctly.

8. What if I order an item repeated over the term, and my child tried and didn’t like it? Can I change it to another item for next time?

Ordering will not be reopened once it’s closed for the term. Changes cannot be accommodated. We encourage you to try a variety of items from the same vendor. Use Term 1 to explore the options, and Term 2 to order your child’s favorites. Limited exceptions will be made – Please email the Hot Lunch Coordinators to inquire: hotlunch@clevelandpac.com

9. I placed an order for my child, but he is out sick. Can I cancel the order last minute?

Orders cannot be cancelled without at least 2 weeks advance notice. If your child is sick on Hot Lunch day, his/her order will be distributed to the Cleveland staff. Alternatively you can make arrangements with the Hot Lunch On-Site Coordinator to pick up your child’s order. Please make arrangements via email at hotlunch@clevelandpac.com.

10. I placed an order for my child, but we will be away on vacation that week. Can I cancel the order?

Orders cannot be cancelled without at least 2 weeks advance notice. If you know your child will be away in advance, but you already placed an order that week, contact Hot Lunch at hotlunch@clevelandpac.com to cancel. Your Munch-A-Lunch account will be credited with the balance, which you can use next term/order period.

11. How do I volunteer as a parent?

Parent volunteers are essential to keep the Hot Lunch Program running smoothly and on time! Each grade has been assigned a volunteer month, and parents are encouraged to sign up on Fresh Schools for the month you are assigned: Go to Calendar, and select the event. There will be an open invitation if there are not enough volunteers for a specific month.

12. I’m not getting any emails about Hot Lunch. Why?

We provide news and updates about Hot Lunch via Fresh Schools. If you are not receiving any emails about Hot Lunch, it is likely because you do not have a profile in Fresh Schools, or your child is not assigned to a class. Confirm your email address is correct in Fresh Schools, and your child has been assigned to his/her division.

13. I have questions about Hot Lunch. Who do I contact?

You can contact the Hot Lunch Program in one of 2 ways:

  1. Via Fresh Schools. Tap on “Create a new…”, select “Message”. Tap the “To:” field, and search for “Hot Lunch”. Select the contact “Hot Lunch (Committee)”. Compose your message and send
  2. Via email to hotlunch@clevelandpac.com

We will do our best to reply within 48 hours.