New Recipes and Local Foods on the Menu for Lunch Week
October is a special month for school food, with National Farm to School Month, celebrations for National School Lunch Week and National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day. Some districts celebrate these events on different days due to fall vacations and holidays, but the message is all the same – healthy and local ingredients are on the menu in schools across the US! Read more…
Cafeterias share Lots2Love during National School Lunch Week
Schools across the country celebrated National School Lunch Week (NSLW) with special meals, taste-tests, guest servers, lots of fun decor and special lunchtime events. Read more…
Shaking It Up for National School Lunch Week in Georgia
Dade County Schools in Georgia didn’t let fall break and parent conferences get in the way of celebrating National School Lunch Week (NSLW). School nutrition and food service staff planned NSLW celebrations a week early this year, holding the annual event from October 8-12 to help educate students and parents on the importance and value of school lunch!
Staff members throughout the district wore fun apparel with this year’s NSLW theme, “School Lunch – Lots 2 Love”. Chef hats, t-shirts, aprons – everything they wore celebrated healthy school lunches and all there is to love about them! Cafeterias were decorated with Lots 2 Love messaging. Read more…
Parents Take A Peek Inside The Cafeteria
A great way for parents to learn about their child’s school nutrition program firsthand, National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day started in 2011 by Kiwi Magazine together with School Nutrition Association. Typically during National School Lunch Week in October, schools invite parents to eat lunch with their children and see what has changed over the years. Read more…
Schools Don’t Let Fall Break Sideline Lunch Week Celebrations
Fulton County Schools in Atlanta (GA) didn’t let their Columbus Day holiday break get in the way of celebrating the importance of National School Lunch Week (NSLW). Even though schools were closed October 9-13, Fulton County honored NSLW October 16-20 with a whole week of exciting events and school meals. Roughly 7.9 million healthy school lunches are prepared for more than 91,000 Fulton County students each year.
“School lunches are healthier than ever, with more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less fat and sodium,” said Alyssia Wright, executive director of the district’s School Nutrition Program. “National School Lunch Week helps us educate parents and students about all the benefits of our lunch program, and the appealing choices we offer.” Read more…
Special Guests Serve Up Meals During National School Lunch Week
This year’s National School Lunch Week (NSLW) theme, “Recipes For Success,” encouraged schools to share tried-and-true healthy recipes students love, as well as introduce new and innovative recipes to school menus. Each day, parents and special guests joined students to eat or help serve lunch – local celebrities such as firefighters, superintendents, teachers, local government officials and coaches helped spread the lunchroom love in cafeterias across the country! Read more…
Scratch Cooking in Schools, Just Like Mom Used to Make
Celebrating one of the great new trends in school cafeterias, National School Lunch Week (October 9-13) is highlighting the incorporation of scratch cooking to lunch menus! As part of the “Recipes for Success” theme, we’re featuring delicious looking scratch recipes, like a Hearty Vegetable Soup from a Texas lunchroom and a homemade Arroz con Pollo and Gazpacho Soup dish from a cafeteria in Vermont on the blog and on Tray Talk Facebook. Read more…
Whole Grains Take Over School Menus
We’re kicking off National School Lunch Week (October 9-13) by celebrating all of the great recipes and creative ways schools have added whole grains to menus! We’re featuring a Chicken Alfredo Pasta from a Minnesota lunchroom and Mexican Rice Bowl from a Florida cafeteria here on the blog and on Tray Talk Facebook. Read more…
‘Recipes for Success’ Celebrated During National School Lunch Week
For 55 years, schools have celebrated National School Lunch Week (NSLW) by offering exciting menu ideas to promote the National School Lunch Program, the largest federal child nutrition program in the US.
This year’s NSLW will take place October 9 – 13 and brings together students, teachers, foodservice professionals and school staff from all across the country. The theme, “Recipes For Success,” encourages schools to share tried-and-true healthy recipes students love, as well as introduce new and innovative recipes!
There are a variety of ways school nutrition professionals are promoting healthier choices and working to mirror restaurant trends to boost school meal participation. Weeks of preparation go into planning celebrations, with many schools incorporating customized, made-to-order options and international flavors on menus.
On Tray Talk, we’re holding contests for parents and the community to celebrate National School Lunch Week! Everyone who signs up to Follow TrayTalk.org between October 7-15 is eligible to win a grand prize worth $200, including a pressure cooker and cookbook, gift card for groceries and a NSLW Recipes for Success prize pack! Plus, check out our weeklong promotional contests on Tray Talk Facebook for chances to win $50 gift cards!
Schools also host a variety of contests during NSLW. Students can participate in poster designs, which will then be used to decorate the cafeteria; recipe contests, where the winner’s recipe will be included on the regular school menu; parents and guests will join students to eat or serve lunch, including local celebrities, firefighters and other community members.
NSLW is a time to celebrate all of the exciting things happening in school food such increase in made-to-order or self-serve entrée bars, like chicken wing bars, burrito bars, flatbread bars, sandwich bars, pizza bars, rice bowl bars, etc. 
When students can choose the ingredients to make their own meal, experts say that they often incorporate more fresh fruits and veggies that they will actually consume. Increased scratch preparation has become popular in school cafeterias – from soups to stir-fry and dumplings to lasagna, recipes feature fresh and healthy variety for students.
International Flavors Hit School Cafeterias
Following hot trends in restaurants, schools are incorporating foods with bold, fresh international flavors onto their menus. In particular middle and high school students, with ever-changing palates, are increasingly interested in and exposed to a wider selection of ethnic meals. Read more…
