School-lunch workers try to balance nutrition, taste

In celebration of National School Lunch Week on Tuesday, Riley Adams, a third-grader at East Elementary in Jackson, was all smiles as she gave a handmade card to food-service workers during her lunch.

"You guys rock," Adams wrote. "Every time I eat here, I do a happy dance. All of my taste buds cheer. Hurray!"

School buildings within the district are hosting special guests, playing music and decorating their cafeterias as part of the weeklong event, which recognizes the federally funded National School Lunch Program.

The program requires school meals to meet federal nutrition standards, such as offering fruits and vegetables every day, serving whole-grain rich foods and limiting fat, calories and sodium. This year's theme is "School Lunch Snapshot," as people are encouraged to share the best images of school lunches.

Students on Tuesday had the option of selecting spaghetti or a pig-in-a-blanket as their hot meal. They also had a selection of fruits and vegetables -- broccoli, salad, pears, oranges, watermelon and carrots.

The district serves about 3,000 lunches and 900 breakfasts each day, and it also has an after-school snack program.

Liz Aufdenberg has served as the school district's food service director for 14 years and has worked at the district for 26. Throughout the years, she has seen many changes in requirements.

"Every year, they've added something else on, something that's changing with food service," she said. "It's an ongoing learning experience"

The meals now are like puzzles based on a weekly analysis, she said. The five-day week is broken into servings of fruit, vegetables, grain, protein and milk.

"Back when I started, it was food-based, where you had the different components, and then we switched to the nutrient analysis part of it," she said. "Now, it's both together."

The district has kept the same vendors over the years, she said, but manufacturers have scrambled to keep up with changes in requirements by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As an example, she cited changes in whole-grain guidelines. The first change led to requiring 100 percent whole grain. But students wouldn't eat that, she said, so the requirement was dropped to 51 percent.

The changes are like "food for thought," Aufdenberg said. "You have to digest it. After you digest it, it does make sense."

After each meal, looking at the trash and seeing whether students are throwing away food is an indicator of whether students are enjoying their meals, Aufdenberg said.

Most of the plates Tuesday showed only the remains of spaghetti sauce.

Another change implemented this year is food-service employees now have to complete a specific number of hours of training, she said.

This year's training focused on customer service and what makes a meal, she said, and with a new school opening, each employee created and decorated a puzzle piece to tell more about themselves.

The district also has a registered dietitian nutritionist, Ellen Gipson, who serves as the district's nutrition coordinator.

She works to find new products that meet guidelines and does taste testing to ensure students will like the meals.

She also leads assemblies to teach students about nutrition, such as helping them understand why their bread is brown and why whole grains are better for them.

Gipson said students now will hold up their lunch and ask, "Is this healthy for me?"

"That's really good to know they're looking at their meals," she said.

Third-grader Lynn Avery Crowley said her favorite lunch is chicken nuggets with apples, mini bananas and chocolate milk.

"It's like a fancy buffet," she said.

klamb@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

455 N. Lacey St., Jackson, Mo.