Ask the Dietitian

The first question we recieved this year is to explain how we came to the decision of planning our menus:

Each of the following menus was reformatted to support a reduction of hours in each kitchen.  By decreasing the amount of unpopular and labor intensive options, we are anticipating increases in student participation that can be supported by the kitchen staff at each building.  By cutting back the number of entrée choices, the variety of food products needed to be stocked at each kitchen was also reduced.  Over 90 food products will be removed from the warehouse inventory this year based on their usage rates, amount of sodium, contents of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup, and cost.  This also saves the warehouse staff time with fewer products for them to manage.  To help sustain the integrity of the meal program, a small amount of these products will be replaced with a version that is either of higher nutritional density, is a locally grown or processed in Oregon or Lane County, or has become a scratch recipe that is being prepared at our production kitchen.  All new products were analyzed for cost and are equal to or less expensive than the previous version.  By reducing the amount of items needed in our inventory, we are expecting a decrease in the amount of time required by kitchen staff to order, stock, and manage the inventory at their building.  For the benefit of the children we serve, it is crucial that we take a quality or quantity approach to our menus and not take too many steps backwards in regards to the overall nutritional density of the products and entrees we offer. 

 Elementary Menu:

• Reduced the lunch menu from a 5 week cycle to a 4 week and the breakfast menu from a 5 week cycle to a 2 week.  This will decrease the variety of entrees being offered and the amount of products needed to be stocked at each kitchen
• Reduced the lunch entrée choices from 5 to 3 choices per day and the breakfast menu from 5 to 3 choices per day (2 of the 3 breakfast choices are bagels and cold cereal that require no preparation);   Eliminated non-popular and labor intensive entrees to assist with the ease of meal preparation and service
• Increased the frequency of popular student choices and usage of commodity items such as pizza, tacos, burgers, and breaded chicken products while still offering parent friendly choices such as Baked Potato with topping bar, Lochmead Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, and Spaghetti with homemade meat or Italian sauce
• Removed “bonus” items such as cookies (served every other Friday), pickles, croutons, goldfish crackers, pretzels, saltine crackers, breadsticks, and whipped topping

These items offer no nutritional benefit and were paired with a less favorite entrees to encourage students to try them

New this year:

In addition to the daily rainbow themed salad bar that is included with all meals, a daily vegetable side will be available with all entrees to increase vegetable consumption

Offering only white milk during K-5 lunch service during first 2 months to reduce the availability of sugar sweetened beverages made available to students.  Expectation is milk consumption will decrease at first but will level out over a few weeks.  Milk that is taken and not consumed will be measured and tracked at each building during the duration of the trial to determine the difference in milk consumption when chocolate milk is not available.  Currently, lunch is the only meal that offers chocolate milk at all grade levels

 Middle School Menu:

• Left the menu as a 1 week cycle for both breakfast and lunch
• Reduced the lunch entrée choices from 13 to 6 choices per day and the breakfast menu from 6 to 5 choices per day (3 of the 5 choices are bagels, cold and hot cereal that require no preparation); Eliminated non-popular and labor intensive entrees to assist with the ease of meal preparation and service
• Eliminated 2 complete “zones” which will reduce the number of staff needed in each kitchen to run them during meal service.  This will also decrease the variety of entrees being offered and the amount of products needed to be stocked at each kitchen
• Increased the frequency of popular student choices and usage of commodity items such as pizza, tacos, burgers, and breaded chicken products while still offering parent friendly choices such as Pasta with Roasted Vegetables, Tomato Basil Calzones, and Vegetable Stir Fry

High School Menu:

• Reduced the lunch menu from a 2 week cycle to a 1 week and left the breakfast menu as a 1 week cycle.  This will decrease the variety entrees being offered and the amount of products needed to be stocked at each kitchen.
• Reduced the lunch entrée choices from 16 to 9 choices per day and the breakfast menu from 10 to 5 choices per day (3 of the 5 choices are bagels, cold and hot cereal that require no preparation).  This reduces the amount of different lunch recipes (this includes main entrees and sides) that were being prepared over two weeks from 93 to 47 different choices, which we are expecting will decrease in the amount of time required by kitchen staff to forecast, order, stock, and manage the production at their building
• Popular student choices and usage of commodity items such as pizza, tacos, burgers, and breaded chicken products while still be available as well as parent friendly choices such as daily ‘grab and go’ style salads and wraps,  BBQ Glazed Chicken with Caramelized Onions, and Vegetable Stir Fry.

It's important to note that our menu is constantly being looked at and is a work in progress, finding the best possible mix of popular, healthy and nutritious favorites for our students.

November 30, 2010

This question comes from Louis, an 8th grader at Spencer Butte Middle School:  "Why isn't there a vegetable every day for every meal?"

Well, I'm happy to say that there sure are plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits available every day, Louis!  In fact, your question made me realize that we need to do a better job in getting the word out that we do have a wide variety of fresh produce available with every meal.  Go to the "MENU" tab on the left to see some pictures and a rundown of our offering bar for this winter!  -Rick

November 17, 2010

Our first question comes from Mallora, 5th grade, Willagillespie Elementary:  "Why can't we have food from different countries?"

Excellent question, Mallora.  This can be taken a couple different ways, so I'll try to answer it in both ways I'm thinking. The first is that we can and do like to offer items that originate in other countries.  For example, mexican food and italian food.  Keep in mind we'd like to try and offer new things, but we really try to offer food that most students will like, which can be hard at times.

Also, your question can also mean "can I get food that's made in other countries..."  In which case food that's produced locally makes sense because you don't have to ship it from far away.  We try to purchase our food from local sources as much as possible.