Students have been back in school for a couple weeks now, and hopefully everyone is settling into their new routines. Perhaps one of the ways you’ve made the morning routine a bit easier is to have your kids buy lunch at school. But do you even know what your kiddo is eating every day?
Last month, I wrote about how to build a balanced lunchbox for your kid, by including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and a source of protein. However, when I decided to write about lunch in East Aurora schools, I realized I didn’t know anything about the school lunch program in our district.
Good thing one of my running buddies is Rebecca O’Connor, one of seven Farm to Institution Regional Coordinators in New York State. The program, run by Cornell Cooperative Extension, focuses on increasing the volume and variety of local foods in schools and other institutions across the state. Specifically, O’Connor said she works with food service managers to increase their procurement of local foods by analyzing their current purchasing practices, kitchen equipment, staffing levels and even desire to incorporate local foods and increase from-scratch cooking.
I spoke with O’Connor recently to get smart about what kinds of foods are offered to students at lunchtime, and how parents can encourage both their kids and the school district to make healthy choices.
Currently, the East Aurora School District does not run its own food service program, but instead is part of the 23% of schools statewide that contract with a food service company. EASD has contracted with Personal Touch since 2005. O’Connor said schools that run their own programs, such as Hamburg and Springville school districts, can offer more variety and from-scratch cooking than contract food service providers.
“I have a special interest in schools that contract for food service, like East Aurora, and helping them learn more about what options they have within their contracts to improve the lunch program,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor has put together a database of farms that schools can use to source local foods. She can even help schools find other ways to get local food, such as using a service like Produce Peddlers, which sells excess produce, like ‘seconds’ in an online market and then delivers the food.
One of the current initiatives in the district is the Harvest of the Month, which is indicated on the school menu and served at least once a month. A quick peek at the June menu at Parkdale identified New York State apples as the ‘harvest’ that month.
Another way the district is trying to increase fruit and vegetable consumption is the salad bar at Parkdale. According to June’s menu, the salad bar appeared only once a week on Wednesdays.
While I did see a fruit and vegetable listed each day on the East Aurora menus, I also saw that the entrée was often one of the following options: chicken fingers and fries, pizza, mozzarella sticks, macaroni and cheese, or a ‘taco in a bag.’ A look at the Springville School District’s Elementary lunch menu included Asian Chicken and Rice, homemade pizzas, sweet potato fries and a variety of black bean side dishes.
O’Connor explained that in order for school meals to be reimbursable by the state, students must take at least three of the five options offered. Those five options include a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, protein and milk or milk alternative. However, just because a student takes the food, it doesn’t mean they are going to eat it.
“Schools have an incredible amount of plate waste,” O’Connor said. “The best way to reduce plate waste is to serve what kids will eat.”
O’Connor said schools that run their own food programs often get their students involved in food selection by running taste-tests, allowing kids to participate in the kitchen and increasing education about the local foods being served. Other options to reduce food waste include a share table and a composting program.
I asked my friend what advice she’d give to parents—herself included as she has two kiddos at Parkdale—and she had plenty of ideas.
She encouraged parents to look at the lunch menu with their kids, and help them identify local foods using the Harvest of the Month information, as well as encouraging them to choose fruits and vegetables. Additionally, parents can monitor their child’s lunch account for excess extras, like ice cream purchases.
“There is always a fruit or vegetable on the menu every day,” she said.
She also encouraged parents to communicate with the school district about the lunch program.
“Tell the district how much your kid likes the salad bar,” she said.
O’Connor did share some exciting news as well. The EASD recently applied for and received a $13,000 grant that will provide funding through February of 2025 to purchase local foods. So, it looks like O’Connor will be busy helping the district spend that money!
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