Artificial Intelligence in School Menu Planning

The expertise and compassion of school chefs and kitchen staff will always be at the heart of the school cafeteria, finding creative ways to deliver meals and student smiles. Some school nutrition departments are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) as an extra support resource to increase efficiencies, tap into new creative ideas or help solve kitchen dilemmas.

The nutrition services team at Wichita Public Schools (WPS) in Kansas is experimenting with an innovative approach to menu makeovers and making the most of excess food inventory.  For example, when WPS had extra kidney beans and black beans, the staff turned to AI sources to suggest three or four different recipes that utilize the beans in different ways. Coming up with trendy menu options that students may recognize from restaurants takes a great amount of detailed menu conversions to ensure school meals follow USDA nutrition requirements.  

“AI can help with that creativity…it helps with ways to cross-utilize ingredients so we can cut down on the inventory and focus on how we can use some of those same products, but just in different ways,” said Chef Andrew Terronez with Wichita Public Schools. “AI has been most beneficial to me when it comes to finding new food items or helping menu planners come up with creative ideas.”

Popular menu items in WPS include spicy beans, beef and noodle bowls, tamales and homemade lasagna. The district also finds that rotating salad and sandwich offerings in middle and high school has been successful, with menu items such as Asian wraps and pasta salad. Menu additions inspired by AI, including buffalo cauliflower and roasted apples, are also taste-tested with students to determine their interest in seeing them on school menus regularly.

Efficiency in meal preparation is essential for large-scale school kitchens. AI has also contributed to the efforts at WPS by helping adapt traditional, at-home recipe ingredient measurements and cooking times to the large-scale recipes needed to feed an entire student body.

Wichita Public Schools’ Nutrition Services is leading the way by exploring the many benefits of using AI when conducting kitchen staff training, parent communication and creative menu adaptations. As a result, students can benefit from a more diverse and sustainable dining experience.