School food service directors explain how they changed meals
June 18, 2014 | 12:58 PM
CHICAGO — Schools can serve healthier foods and get children to eat them if school food managers put enough effort and creativity into the meals, several school food service directors explained here last week at the United Fresh Produce Association meeting.
But they also revealed increases in their budgets for fruits and vegetables that may explain why the debate over school meal rules has gotten so bitter.
The session took place as the School Nutrition Association, which represents the school food service directors and the companies that make the foods, campaigned for the House to pass an appropriations bill that would require the Agriculture Department to grant a waiver from the healthier meals rules to any school that says it has lost money in its meals program for six months.
Further consideration of the House bill has been postponed, but the Senate today took up its fiscal year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bill, and a debate on school meals is likely to occur there as well.
Bertrand Weber, the director of culinary and nutrition services for Minneapolis Public Schools, which serve 35,000 students, said that he has installed salad bars in 31 schools and that they have gone a long way in making fruits and vegetables popular.
The salad bars also cut down on the waste that other schools have complained about, he said, because the students choose what they want. The Minneapolis schools also made a video urging elementary school students to take only a small amount of a fruit and vegetable the first time to see if they like it, and then take more the second time.
Weber said he and the students prefer fruits and vegetables that are not individually wrapped. His staff cuts melons into wedges so students can eat them easily, he said.
Minneapolis students have increased their intake of vegetables more than fruits, Weber said, adding that jicama is now one of the most popular items and that he also features wheat berry, red rice and quinoa in his salads.
When he served mangoes, Weber said, “those kids went bonkers. We need to push the envelope” on offering more exotic fruit.
A fruit and vegetable of the month program has made students aware of produce they did not know, he added. The Minneapolis schools have also started a “Minnesota Grown” program in the schools, and Weber said he has worked with Hmong farmers to help them aggregate their production and maintain the food safety standards that are required to sell to the schools.
Weber also noted that of his $9 million budget, 24 percent now goes for fruits and vegetables, which is up 8 percent from last year and 15 percent from two years ago. But Weber maintained he has not reduced spending with the processed food companies that are traditional providers of foods to the schools.
Cynthia Holt, coordinator for food purchasing in Whitewater, Wis., also endorsed salad bars. She noted that school food service directors are not used to marketing their foods, but that they can learn how to prepare the fruits and vegetables so that children will eat them.
In some cases children have not been able to open the wrapping on apples or need them cut up, Holt said. She also noted that school boards control the budgets, and that parents and others in the community need to tell them that that they support the healthier meals.
“If we are going to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables we have to engage our students,” Holt said, adding that the schools for which she works have gotten students involved in the meal programs and brought in chefs to come up with ideas to make the foods more appealing.
Jason Morse, a chef for the Douglas County schools in Colorado, said his spending on fruits and vegetables has risen from $125,000 per year to $800,000. He said that if students complain to parents that they did not get enough food at school, parents need to be told that students may be skipping the fruits and vegetables.
Morse said he has encouraged students to try new foods with events such as bringing in high school kids to elementary schools to eat fruits and vegetables.
“My kids don’t like to be forced to do anything … the younger kids think it is cool to eat like a high school kid,” he said.
Among the exotic items that Morse has served are roasted Brussel sprouts and grilled pineapple. He is also careful to make sure the fruits and vegetables are served at their best. If bananas start turning, he said, he serves them right away even if they are not on the menu that day.
The Douglas County schools have also had a “Colorado Proud” day in which all the food served came from Colorado. And his salad bars are called “harvest bars” because “salad bars sound so ’80s,” he said.
Some kids who bring sandwiches and chips from home have been enticed to try the fruits and vegetables, he said.
Morse said he wants his “passion [for healthy eating] top carry through to our students so they will take that home. We hope that they will go home and inspire their siblings and their parents.”
But they also revealed increases in their budgets for fruits and vegetables that may explain why the debate over school meal rules has gotten so bitter.
The session took place as the School Nutrition Association, which represents the school food service directors and the companies that make the foods, campaigned for the House to pass an appropriations bill that would require the Agriculture Department to grant a waiver from the healthier meals rules to any school that says it has lost money in its meals program for six months.
Further consideration of the House bill has been postponed, but the Senate today took up its fiscal year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bill, and a debate on school meals is likely to occur there as well.
Bertrand Weber, the director of culinary and nutrition services for Minneapolis Public Schools, which serve 35,000 students, said that he has installed salad bars in 31 schools and that they have gone a long way in making fruits and vegetables popular.
The salad bars also cut down on the waste that other schools have complained about, he said, because the students choose what they want. The Minneapolis schools also made a video urging elementary school students to take only a small amount of a fruit and vegetable the first time to see if they like it, and then take more the second time.
Weber said he and the students prefer fruits and vegetables that are not individually wrapped. His staff cuts melons into wedges so students can eat them easily, he said.
Minneapolis students have increased their intake of vegetables more than fruits, Weber said, adding that jicama is now one of the most popular items and that he also features wheat berry, red rice and quinoa in his salads.
When he served mangoes, Weber said, “those kids went bonkers. We need to push the envelope” on offering more exotic fruit.
A fruit and vegetable of the month program has made students aware of produce they did not know, he added. The Minneapolis schools have also started a “Minnesota Grown” program in the schools, and Weber said he has worked with Hmong farmers to help them aggregate their production and maintain the food safety standards that are required to sell to the schools.
Weber also noted that of his $9 million budget, 24 percent now goes for fruits and vegetables, which is up 8 percent from last year and 15 percent from two years ago. But Weber maintained he has not reduced spending with the processed food companies that are traditional providers of foods to the schools.
Cynthia Holt, coordinator for food purchasing in Whitewater, Wis., also endorsed salad bars. She noted that school food service directors are not used to marketing their foods, but that they can learn how to prepare the fruits and vegetables so that children will eat them.
In some cases children have not been able to open the wrapping on apples or need them cut up, Holt said. She also noted that school boards control the budgets, and that parents and others in the community need to tell them that that they support the healthier meals.
“If we are going to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables we have to engage our students,” Holt said, adding that the schools for which she works have gotten students involved in the meal programs and brought in chefs to come up with ideas to make the foods more appealing.
Jason Morse, a chef for the Douglas County schools in Colorado, said his spending on fruits and vegetables has risen from $125,000 per year to $800,000. He said that if students complain to parents that they did not get enough food at school, parents need to be told that students may be skipping the fruits and vegetables.
Morse said he has encouraged students to try new foods with events such as bringing in high school kids to elementary schools to eat fruits and vegetables.
“My kids don’t like to be forced to do anything … the younger kids think it is cool to eat like a high school kid,” he said.
Among the exotic items that Morse has served are roasted Brussel sprouts and grilled pineapple. He is also careful to make sure the fruits and vegetables are served at their best. If bananas start turning, he said, he serves them right away even if they are not on the menu that day.
The Douglas County schools have also had a “Colorado Proud” day in which all the food served came from Colorado. And his salad bars are called “harvest bars” because “salad bars sound so ’80s,” he said.
Some kids who bring sandwiches and chips from home have been enticed to try the fruits and vegetables, he said.
Morse said he wants his “passion [for healthy eating] top carry through to our students so they will take that home. We hope that they will go home and inspire their siblings and their parents.”
