Food Service Updates at ORCSD

The below article was sent to us from Al Howland (otherwise known to elementary school students as Captain Balance).  Enjoy!

Each morning during the school year, a frantic ritual occurs throughout the Oyster River School District. Parents rush to get their kids ready for school and must make a decision about school lunch. In the past, the choice came down to packing a healthy lunch or submitting your child to the dreaded mozzarella stick. Fortunately, the addition of new child nutrition director Andrea Tran has helped improve our options.

The first order of business was to get our kitchens cooking more meals from scratch. That may sound crazy, but counter to popular belief, many school districts lack fully functional kitchens and are forced to rely on highly processed frozen foods. New menu items at ORCSD include freshly prepared macaroni and cheese made with real cheese and milk sauce, shepherd's pie, and american chop suey. This year, they also prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal, complete with roasted turkey and homemade stuffing.

Andrea has also gone beyond increasing the amount of cooking occurring and changed how the food is prepared. Box mixes are no longer used, and all rice dishes now incorporate basic brown rice. Some of the worst highly processed foods have been removed from the menu.

This includes both mozzarella sticks and french toast sticks from the elementary schools, and chicken patties from the middle school. In their place, more soup and sandwich combinations have been added. She has also addressed a major problem every parent rushing to get their kids on the bus has experienced. How do you get your child to eat a healthy breakfast before school?

Both elementary schools include a new $1.25 grab-and-go breakfast option. Gone are the days of half a plain bagel. Students are now offered a well rounded choice that includes 1/2 cup portion of fruit, 2 grains, and 2 oz of protein.

Also new this year is the appearance of Ms Vegetable. Each month, a seasonal vegetable is prepared in the kitchens and Andrea dons a wacky hat and apron and asks all elementary students to try a small sample. Student reaction is gauged and it is used to determined if the recipe can be added to the lunch menu. As a volunteer in the guise of Captain Balance, I have been able to help with this event at Moharimet and have marveled at the kids' reaction to one of the more difficult vegetables, brussels sprouts. Volunteers are encouraged to help with this monthly event and are rewarded with a wealth of insight about the food service.

While the above changes are encouraging to parents, the food service still faces a major hurdle. The department is supposed to be self supporting. That requires that meal revenues must cover food costs, wages and benefits, and equipment  maintenance. In order to achieve that goal, it is critical for parents to understand that menu choices are healthy and affordable.

Future inclusion of local farm fresh meats and vegetables will require increased participation in the lunch program. Andrea has developed a web page on the district web site http://www.orcsd.org that can be found under the department heading. She is actively seeking to improve communication and would welcome input. Please drop her an email and and share your thoughts. Finally, please dig through your cookbooks and send your favorite vegetable recipes to itworkedforpopeye@gmail.com.

Al Howland
Durham