Hot lunches a hot topic in District 204
A new hot lunch program has been wildly popular in Indian Prairie Unit District 204, resulting in a 40 percent increase of middle and high school students buying meals at school.
The success has not worked its way into elementary schools, where lunches are catered.
“It's always a goal to increase participation in the program and we're going to work hard to find out how we can do that,” said Karla Zozulia, director of support services for the district.
She suspects a big part of the success at the district's middle and high schools is due to the new way lunches are sold. Not only is the meal plan quicker to serve, it costs less. Before, students bought items from an a la carte menu that added up to $5 to $10 a day for lunch. Now items such as a hamburger, baked french fries, fruit and milk are bundled into a meal costing $2.30. “It's easier for students to grab and go,” Zozulia said. Other items still are available from an a la carte menu.
Elementary school students have a choice of three different meals each day, costing $2.25. While they don't have the a la carte options, meals include an entree, two to three sides and milk. Breakfast also is served at some schools and costs $1.50.
Increasing lunch sales at the district's elementary schools has been a challenge. Part of the problem is that all food is prepared off-site and then is shuttled to the district's 21 elementary schools and the alternative high school.
“The food is good,” Zozulia said, adding she makes it a point to try out lunches at the different schools.
Superintendent Kathryn Birkett agrees, but “It will never be what it could be if we had kitchens” on-site at the elementary schools.
A fifth food preparation kitchen was added this year to improve the quality of the food, while new serving tables for hot and cold foods were provided to all of the schools. In the past, hot lunch was put out on tables.
“Now, it looks more like a lunchroom, and the cold serving tables and steam tables keep the food more fresh,” Zozulia said. Also, all of the schools' milk coolers are in the process of being inspected to determine what needs to be replaced.
Last year, the district decided to participate in the USDA National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. The program has nutrition and calorie requirements that must be met, but allows the district to receive federal money to pay for free and reduced-cost meals for students who qualify for them.
A sign of the struggling economy, students taking part in the program have increased from 7.3 percent in 2008/09 to 12.8 percent this school year. Online applications allow parents to sign their kids up privately.
When the district decided to participate in the federal program, a committee of district officials and parents was created and resulted in a switch in food service providers. Also, some elementary schools are streamlining the lunch service by using a ticket system in which students order what they want in the morning and then hand in a ticket to indicate their food choice during lunch. Others are having students use plastic baskets instead of Styrofoam trays that are thrown away each day. In addition, lunches include locally grown produce, and providers are working to include more vegetarian choices.
Also, nine students in the district receive gluten- and casin-free lunches. A doctor's note is required to sign up for that program that allows students to eat the same foods their peers receive. They simply place their orders in advance to give the kitchens time to prepare the meals properly.
Plans are currently in the works to continue to promote school lunches and to make more improvements. Principals are being surveyed and parents may be asked for feedback in an online survey this spring. Promotions might include a food of the month to spark interest. One trend officials noticed is that lunch sales tend to be down on Mondays, but up on Fridays. Officials also might invite parent groups for food tastings or to check out their schools' lunches.