October 2007 News
Thursday, October 18, 2007
National School Lunch Week 2007
In a recent proclamation by the President of the United States, the week of October 14-20, 2007, was designated as National School Lunch Week. The National School Lunch Program was established in 1946. All school districts operating in the National School Lunch Program receive the same federal and state reimbursement for breakfast and lunch and choose from the same list of available commodities. All food served in the Santa Barbara School Districts meets or exceeds federal and state guidelines for healthy foods.
In the Santa Barbara School Districts, 65 food service workers in the Nutrition Services Department prepare and serve more than 8,000 meals daily. Warehouse staff takes delivery of perishable and non-perishable food and supplies and transports them to kitchens throughout the elementary and secondary districts.
Several kitchens serve multiple sites:
- Franklin Elementary School prepares meals for Franklin, Cleveland, Roosevelt, and McKinley elementary schools as well as Cesar Chavez Charter School;
- Monroe Elementary School prepares meals for Monroe and Washington;
- La Cumbre Junior High School prepares meals for La Cumbre as well as the Santa Barbara Community Academy;
- Santa Barbara Junior High School prepares meals for Santa Barbara Junior High and, because of construction in the high school kitchen, they are also preparing meals for Santa Barbara High School.
All elementary school kitchens and the kitchen at Santa Barbara Junior High prepare meals for the Child Development Program. Cafeteria kitchens are also located at Open Alternative School, Dos Pueblos and San Marcos high schools, and La Colina and Goleta Valley junior high schools.
In the elementary and secondary school districts, every cafeteria has a salad bar where students can select fresh fruits and vegetables. Nutrition Services currently uses the local growers collaborative in order to provide fresh produce from local county growers. However, as the largest school districts in Santa Barbara County, there is not enough local produce and not enough variety consistently available, so local vendors (secured through the bid process) who meet delivery and food safety requirements are the source of some of the produce.
The districts recently approved a Wellness Policy, which is being actively implemented in the areas of health education, nutrition, and physical activity. On a related note, not to be overlooked are gardens at several schools that are integrated into the educational curriculum.
During the 180 days of school in 2006-07, Nutrition Services served more than 300,000 reimbursable breakfasts and approximately 1,500,000 lunches as well as sales of individual al carte items totaling more than $1.5 million. According to Frank Lihn, director of Nutrition Services, “Nutrition Services budgets 38 percent of its sales for the cost of its food, or approximately $1,450,000.”
Other features of the food service program include:
Breakfast. As of last year, all schools offer breakfast service.
Point of Sale (POS). Point of Sale terminals have been installed in the school cafeterias for a variety of reasons: allows parents to open cafeteria accounts so students no longer need to carry lunch money during their school day; track student meal transactions; track any health or food allergies in order to best meet student needs; and prevent overt identification of students who are eligible for free and reduced price meals.
Provision 2 Schools. At Franklin, McKinley, and Cesar Chavez, all students eat both breakfast and lunch at no charge. All elementary school students (except students attending Open Alternative School) eat breakfast at no charge to encourage students to eat breakfast before school.
Pilot Programs. The districts are currently supporting several pilot programs to determine the costs and effectiveness of different styles of food preparation as well as using alternate sources for some supplies. This year, La Cumbre has started a pilot program whereby 2-3 days of week food service is preparing meals from scratch and using locally grown, sustainable produce. At Monroe and Washington schools, the same model is in place, however food supplies are obtained from traditional sources. Harding Elementary School recently instituted a pilot program based on a comprehensive school-wide nutrition program incorporating nutrition education for parents as well as what is served in the school cafeteria.
Food Fair. For the past three years, Nutrition Services has organized a test of new food products for school cafeterias. The Food Fair provides an opportunity for students and adults to taste a variety of foods, meet with the districts’ Nutrition Services staff, discuss concerns with manufacturer representatives, and have a voice in the selection of breakfast and lunch entrees, a la carte items, and snacks.
Elementary school district menus are posted on the districts’ web site in English and Spanish.