Working toward zero waste in the cafeteria
One Florida school district has been making great strides toward its goal to reduce the amount of waste it sends to the local landfills. Alachua County Food & Nutrition Services is enlisting its youngest community members to help get there!
Students at Stephen Foster Elementary School separate their lunch leftovers and trash for compost and recycling, with some food scraps repurposed to feed pigs at a local farm. The Food & Nutrition Services department received a grant from the State of Florida to launch its new accelerated composting system.
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School Greenhouse Grown Veggies on the Menu
Produce grown in the district’s new greenhouse will be on the menu this fall in Denver Public Schools‘ (CO). According to school officials, the 28,000 square foot greenhouse is the first of its kind in the United States and will eventually hold up to 35,000 plants.
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What’s on the menu in the new school year?
The start of the new school year is quickly approaching. School nutrition professionals from across the country recently attended the nation’s largest school food show to bring new ideas to student menus. Customizable meals is a trend many students will see when they head back to the cafeteria.
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Lettuce for CA district grown in freight farms
An innovative freight container system modified into a vertical hydroponic garden produces just over a thousand heads of lettuce each week, served fresh for Ann Sobrato High School students to enjoy at lunch. The freight farm is just 320 square feet and sits on a concrete slab outside the California school, in Morgan Hill Unified School District.
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Students Produce and Host School Lunch Madness Contest on Weekly TV Show
Students at Sussex Central High School (DE) held a first-ever school lunch contest on their student-produced weekly show, Central Access TV. Staff and students gave candid interviews describing their favorite school meals and sharing their predictions for a segment called Lunch Madness, a play on the popular March Madness basketball tournament. Read more…
Survey Prompts Major Updates to Nutrition Program
Wayzata Public Schools‘ (MN) nutrition professionals spent the summer of 2018 overhauling the nutrition program in the district’s Culinary Express. They created new school menus, with delicious scratch-made recipes, including homemade chicken noodle and chicken wild rice soup, vegetable lo mein, spicy black beaned burgers, baked ziti and pork carnitas burrito bowls.
While revamping the Culinary Express website, school nutrition staff worked with a local food hub and marketing company to help provide more opportunities for nutrition education, including new graphics, cafeteria posters, food mascots, etc. The innovative changes to their school nutrition program were prompted by survey feedback from parents and staff.
Feeding Students On The Go with 21st Century Technology
When walking the exhibit floor of the School Nutrition Association’s (SNA) Annual National Conference (ANC) in Las Vegas last week, it was hard not to notice that technology and making school meals more mobile friendly were two of the biggest trends discussed. Read more…
Specialty Equipment Helps CA District Serve 24,000 School Meals A Day
Students in Modesto City Schools (MCS) in California started classes last week, but school nutrition professionals had been preparing for the new school year all summer long. Something exciting was in store, helping to improve the more than 24,000 meals made daily – new equipment for their specialized bakery. Think about 24,000 meals in terms of a restaurant – what kind of facility is needed to produce that many meals every day? Read more…
Live from the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference Exhibit Floor
Ever try a whole grain eggroll? How about low-sodium curry chicken sushi roll? Or 13 kinds of rice? A healthier version of chicken and waffles? Read more…
Cafeteria On Wheels Feeds Even More Students Over Summer Months
After a successful pilot program last year, Alachua County Schools in Gainesville (FL) has added a food truck to their free summer meals program, bringing delicious options to neighborhoods in need over the summer months.
The three additional neighborhood stops will serve about 150 children who would otherwise go without these meals over the summer. All children under 18 years old are eligible for free summer lunch, but even adults have shown an interest and are buying from the enticing food truck as well, said Rowe. Read more…
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