Nutrition & Wellness
Creative Minds offers free breakfast to all students each morning. Discounted or no-cost lunch is available to students who qualify for the free and reduced-price meals program. Families may also purchase full-price lunch for students or send their children to school with a shelf-stable, ready-to-eat lunch. Students in our after-school programs receive a free snack; a snack should be brought from home for the regular school day.
- We cannot refrigerate or heat up the lunches and snacks that students bring from home.
- Creative Minds is a nut-free school. Nuts and foods containing nuts are not allowed on campus.
- All school meals are provided by Top Spanish, a local caterer.
Discounted or Free Lunch
Creative Minds participates in the National School Lunch Program, which provides nutritionally balanced lunches at low cost or no cost to students who qualify on the basis of family income.
To receive discounted or free lunch for their children, families must fill out a free and reduced-price meals (FARM) application:
- Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals: English
- Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals: Amharic
- Solicitud para familias de comidas gratis oa precio reducido: español
Return completed applications to the front desk at school or email them to frontdesk@creativemindspcs.org. Note that families must reapply to FARM each year.
We encourage all families that think they might be eligible to apply to the FARM program. Besides receiving free or discounted school lunch, FARM-qualified families also receive discounts on Extended Creative Day, our program of before- and after-school activities.
Purchasing School Lunch
Families that do not qualify for free and reduced-priced meals may sign up here to purchase full-price lunch for their children. Lunch costs $5.00 per school day and families are billed monthly; an invoice for the first month of 2022–23 meals will be emailed by September 5 to families that have signed up.
We ask that families adhere to our payment policy so that we can accommodate all students while maintaining proper financial management. Payments must be made in advance. To cancel, please provide written notice to frontdesk@creativemindspcs.org by the 15th of the month to cancel meals for the next month. No refunds are available.
Billing Table: Paid School Lunch
| Month | Fee |
| August | $15 (3 meals) |
| September | $ 105 (21 meals) |
| October | $90 (18 meals) |
| November | $90 (18 meals) |
| December | $80 (16 meals) |
| January | $95 (19 meals) |
| February | $75 (15 meals) |
| March | $110 (22 meals) |
| April | $70 (14 meals) |
| May | $110.00 (22 meals) |
| June | $70 (14 meals) |
Questions & Concerns about School Lunch
Creative Minds is an equal opportunity provider. If you have questions about school lunch, please contact frontdesk@creativemindspcs.org or call (202) 588-0370.
Breakfast & Lunch Menus
Wellness
Children’s diet has a significant influence on their ability to focus and learn. A healthy digestive system has a positive effect on the nervous system and increases attention and mental clarity. At Creative Minds International PCS, we teach children about health and nutrition in the curriculum.
We also promote student wellness through opportunities for movement and exercise throughout the school day. Activities include yoga, dance, sensory integration work, and physically active games.
Our students benefit from outdoor learning in our natural play space, which features a classroom, art studio, and school garden. The Creative Minds natural play space was sponsored by the Creative Families Association.
Helpful Links & Forms
- Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals: English
- Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals: Amharic
- Solicitud para familias de comidas gratis oa precio reducido: español
- Cómo Solicitar Comidas Escolares Gratis
- FY20 Filter Test: Lead in Water Test Results
- Local Wellness Policy
- Meal Charge Policy
- School Health Profile
- Solicitud Español NSLP
- Triennial Assessment of the Local Wellness Policy
Health Information
- Common Cold
- Conjunctivitis
- Enterovirus
- COVID-19 (Coronavirus): English or Spanish
- Gastroenteritis
- Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (Coxsackie)
- Head Lice
- Impetigo
- Influenza
- Measles: CDC Fact Sheet
- Measles: DC Health Fact Sheet
- Norovirus
- Pinworm
- Pneumonia
- Ringworm
- Scarlet Fever
- Sickle Cell Disease
- Strep Throat
- Guidelines for Keeping Sick Students Home from School
USDA 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/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.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:
| (1) | mail: |
| U.S. Department of Agriculture | |
| Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights | |
| 1400 Independence Avenue, SW | |
| Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or | |
| (2) | fax: |
| (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or | |
| (3) | email: |
| program.intake@usda.gov |
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Also, the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, approved December 13, 1977 (DC law 2-38; DC
official code §2-1402.11(2006), as amended) states the following:
It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice to do any of the following acts, wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason based upon the actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, or political affiliation of any individual. To file a complaint alleging discrimination on one of these bases, please contact the District of Columbia’s Office of Human Rights at (202) 727-4559 or ohr@dc.gov.