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Bringing more local foods to school lunch

October is National Farm to School Month, an opportunity for school districts to shine a light on all of their efforts to provide local foods on student lunch trays.

In central Minnesota, Nay Ah Shing and Pine Grove Nutrition Services Coordinator Deborah Foye has been cultivating relationships with area farmers for produce and meat for the last decade.

Students create healthy recipes for Culinary Arts Fair

School nutrition professionals in one rural West Virginia district wanted to do more to educate students about nutrition, recognizing that engaging with students could help the effort to lower obesity rates and improve health. Wyoming County School District‘s Director of Child Nutrition and General Wellness Programs Rhonda Thomas created a student culinary arts fair to encourage a friendly competition for students to create healthy recipes.

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.

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.

Take-Home Breakfasts for Students

How students “Take Off with School Breakfast” varies from school to school across the country during National School Breakfast Week (March 7-11, 2022). Dealing with various challenges over the past two years has prompted many school meal programs to get creative to ensure students have a healthy breakfast to nourish their day. Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in St. Louis County (MO) has been providing healthy breakfasts to students at the end of the day to bring home and eat in the next morning.

It’s getting wild this National School Lunch Week!

Schools across the country are “Wild About School Lunch” and celebrating National School Lunch Week, October 11-15. This year, lunch is available for free to all students and the efforts of school nutrition professionals ensure healthy lunches are being served, despite unprecedented nationwide supply chain and staffing challenges stemming from the pandemic.

Curbside Lunch Pick-up Doesn’t Stop National School Lunch Week Celebrations

National School Lunch Week (NSLW) looks pretty different this year for Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools (NC) as K-5 students won’t be starting in-school classes until October 19. The district has been running a curbside meal pick-up operation to coincide with distance learning, but they haven’t given up serving nutritious and delicious meals for their students! ECPPS is offering prepared meals that are shelf stable or heat-and-eat selections for middle and high schoolers.

Schools Boost Flavor to Lower Sodium in Meals

As part of the National School Lunch Week theme, “Recipes for Success,” today we’re featuring school meals that are lower in sodium but big on flavor! We’ve got details on a comfort food favorite, Broccoli Cheddar Soup from a South Carolina lunchroom, and a colorful Teriyaki Chicken from an Arizona cafeteria. Read more…

School Food Gets Sophisticated

As students get exposed to more culturally diverse foods and choices, they seek those options in the cafeteria too. Schools across the country are incorporating more ethnically diverse foods into their menus and including them in exciting new build-your-own stations for student to customize their healthy lunches.

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Food Art Welcomes Students

Presentation is everything. Geneva County Schools’ (AL) child nutrition professionals know that all too well – the healthy meals they serve have all the nutrition students need, but now they’re providing eye appeal in the cafeteria too! Read more…