Cobb County School Menus Go Global

The more than 900 school food service team members at Cobb County School District in Georgia have embraced the challenge of creating a menu filled with nutritious and delicious foods representing cultures from around the globe and ensuring menus are constantly evolving.

Those efforts culminate to offer students a culinary tour of the globe!

The menu includes beef gyro for high school students, tikka masala and chana masala served at the elementary school level and build-your-own Mediterranean bowls offered at the middle schools. Elote, also known as Mexican street corn, is made using fresh, local corn on the cob and served during September and October as part of farm-to-school offerings in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Student feedback indicates that their caprese flatbread was the most popular new menu item thus far.

The Global Flavors menu is a true labor of love and took a significant amount of planning and preparation. This includes testing USDA-approved foods, developing menu plans, researching industry trends, gathering student feedback, assessing the latest student participation data and identifying key concepts to incorporate.

“We introduced our major menu changes in January and will run that menu through December, making minor tweaks along the way as needed,” said Monique Johnson, Cobb County School District Assistant Director of Nutrition and Menus. “We adjust on the fly and replace poorly performing items resulting in a dip in student participation in the lunch program on that day.”

Cobb County is the second-largest school district in the state and the 23^rd largest in the nation, with 112 schools serving more than 107,000 students.

The changes to the menu and food service operation were made in a relatively short amount of time. Numerous informative training sessions helped staff adjust to the changes, which included a shift from heat-and-serve to more speed-scratch preparation and cooking. Johnson is thrilled to see an increase in student consumption of all meals served throughout the school day, which validates the Global Flavors menu and the extra behind-the-scenes work accomplished by her staff.

“We anticipated that our elementary school students would be somewhat resistant to the new menu items but they have really embraced it,” said Johnson. “We are excited to add additional plant forward menu items with a global flare and based on feedback, learned that students are looking for these options on their menu.”

The students at the Cobb County School District may be enjoying their meals in Georgia but the Global Flavors menu takes their tastebuds on a global tour of culinary delights, while exposing them to a myriad of cultures.