Advice on cafeteria food in our school district
I am on a mission to begin the change of the AWFUL food our kids receive in the elementary schools in the SRVUSD school district. I have heard that Berkeley has done a fantastic job ridding their kitchens of junk and filling it with healthful foods for the children. Can someone help to inform me where I can begin the process of raising our standards? I would love to know who supplies their food, if it's cooked fresh on site, menu planning, and touring any of the top ranked school cafeterias in Berkeley would be awesome! If a parent wouldn't mind sharing with me the name of their school that has a cafeteria they are proud of, it would be a huge help and get the ball rolling. Thank you so much for any advice.
Sep 21, 2016
Parent Replies
here's a youtube video about the Berkeley School District lunch program:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUbq-DfjJSY
also check out the conscious kitchen which is a new program that has been implemented in a few schools in Marin county:
http://www.consciouskitchen.org
I don't know how to start the process of changing your own district's standards, but if you're interested in Berkeley's school lunch (and breakfast) program, here is a good place to start: http://www.berkeleyschools.net/departments/nutrition-services/ As you can see from the website, the district does a good job of serving much healthier food than many districts. I have been present in the cafeteria during lunch (I have 2 kids in BUSD elementary schools) and have seen the food in person and it looks very appetizing. There is also a salad bar available. In addition to lunch, the district provides a (cold) universal breakfast for all kids, regardless of need. The lunches for elementary schools are made in a central kitchen at King Middle School, so if you find a contact there, that would be a good place to see the BUSD school lunch program in action. Unfortunately my kids don't like most of the offerings so our family rarely buys the school lunches. In a perfect world, there would be more parent engagement to discuss what healthy food kids will actually eat, but I think that the BUSD is doing a good job with limited resources.