sodium content. Fresh fruits such as pineapple, cantaloupe, peaches and watermelon are staples of today’s school lunches — and not in cobbler form, either. Vegetable offerings include baby carrots, sweet potatoes, celery sticks and cherry tomatoes. “Students can’t leave the line without having picked up at least one fruit offering,” says Hoseman. Along those same lines, Hoseman says that the CPSB has been approved to begin a new program to introduce students more fruits and vegetables as mid-day snacks. The program will begin at JFK Elementary this coming school year. “The program’s designed to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables that students might not get at home,” Hoseman says. “It introduces them to things they haven’t tried.” For instance, she says, plans are to offer fried jicama, and purple beets. For dessert, students can enjoy whole wheat sugar cookies rather than the cobblers of yesteryear. And students will find much more than apples and oranges on their plates in today’s school cafeterias. Not only are today’s meals healthier; they’re also more diverse, offering fruits and vegetables that a student 20 years ago wouldn’t have even heard of. There’s kiwi, for instance, as well as bok choy, taro, plantains and cassava. Also changed drastically is the preparation of food, with an emphasis on fresh — and not fried.
“We’ve gotten rid of all of our fryers,” says Hoseman. “Fries — and even chicken tenders — are oven baked.” Foods are prepared from scratch much more than in years past, says Hoseman. The emphasis, she says, is on fresh and as unprocessed as possible.
More Cost, Longer prep, More Training While the changes certainly benefit the students, says Hoseman, they haven’t exactly made the jobs of cafeteria staff easier. “(The new guidelines have) been a real challenge,” she says. “Preparation takes much longer now than it used to. There’s a lot more to training employees now. There’s worrying about recipes and ingredients.”
Still More Change? Hoseman says she wants to add new items in the next year or so to increase the number of middle and high school students who eat cafeteria lunches (students are still allowed to bring their own lunches if they wish). And to make meals even healthier. “I’d like to begin using low-sodium sausage for gumbos or red beans and rice,” she says. “We’ll be adding beef stew to the menu soon, as well as baked potatoes. I’d also like to begin serving wrap sandwiches, and to add a salad line.”
August 1, 2013
LAGNIAPPE
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