Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott schools lunch director explains menu planning process

Lunch menus are set by the state but those overseeing local lunch programs have some leeway to make changes or substitutions. Prescott School District Food Service Manager Janice Stephens said her choices are governed by several factors, including student choice and cost.

According to Stephens, the cost of fruits and fresh vegetables - such as lettuce and tomatoes - will fluctuate occasionally. When the price goes up dramatically in the grocery stores, the school lunch program faces those same increases. When that happens, menu plans typically get changed. For example, a recent menu plan from the state called for cantaloupe but the cost of that fruit was out of reach. Stephens plan substituted grapes and other fruits.

The federal government also provides some foods. On any given month, Prescotts lunch program may receive green beans, apple sauce, sliced apples, chicken or any number of other items. The quantities are limited and the district has no say in what they receive.

Stephens said that she also gets occasional requests from students and parents. She said that a student once asked why pancakes were never offered at breakfast and said that she liked pancakes. Since then, students who eat breakfast find that pancakes are a regular part of the menu. Stephens said the states menu plans often call for Mexican corn which includes bell peppers and pimentos. When parents said that their children would eat plain corn but didnt like Mexican corn, Stephens took that into account for future menus.

Naturally, not every request can be granted and the states requirements strictly address the nutritional needs of students. Stephens said that another reason to continue to offer some foods that arent wildly popular is that children may begin to like a specific food after theyre offered that food numerous times.

According to Stephens, the best way to have children begin to like a particular food is if someone else at that table likes it. She said thats often all it takes for a child to be willing to give a new food a try.

While the younger children may yet be impressionable on that front, the high school students tend to know what they like. Stephens said there was an average of 237 students who ate at the high school cafeteria each school day in October. High school students have the choice of a plate lunch or a hot sandwich lunch. She said the sandwiches are much more popular than plate lunches and attributed it to the fact that the sandwiches are bagged and ready to go.

Its grab and go, Stephens said. And theyre teenagers.

She said students typically have one of three hot sandwiches in the bagged lunch option - hamburger, cheeseburger and chicken sandwiches. They have the option to add mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles but Stephens said many eat the sandwiches with nothing added.

Chips are also included though they add no nutritional value. Stephens said that state guidelines allow chips but that it doesnt count toward the vegetable - its empty calories.

But who wants a sandwich without chips? she asked.

In an effort to make that part of lunch as healthy as possible, Stephens said baked chips are substituted for the fried chips fairly often.

The cost of lunches in Prescott did not go up this year and thats a fact that some high school students are aware of. As one student asked, Where else can you get a hamburger for a dollar?

Stephens said the eventual decision to increase lunch prices will be left to the board. She said that the federal government subsidizes what is collected locally and that the lunch program - for the moment - is in the black.

During a recent board meeting, Deon said that an increase could be necessary in the near future.

I really hate to think that we would have to raise the meals but thats something were going to have to consider.