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A Comparison of School Lunch Menus

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Jan 02, 2010 at 20:00:00 PM PST

Since we talk about school lunch so much around here, I got a hold of a menu from a local elementary school. This is for the month of November.

Jill Richardson :: A Comparison of School Lunch Menus

Every day, yogurt with graham crackers, chicken salad, and peanut butter and jelly are available. So is the salad bar. To drink you can choose between milk or juice.

Entrees:
Below, I've listed the number of occurrences of each entree.

Beef
Mini Cheeseburger: 2

Chicken
Chicken Tenders: 1
Chicken Patty Sandwich: 1
Chicken Nuggets: 3

Turkey
Turkey Corndog: 2

Pizza
Pizza: 2
Pizza Stix: 1

Vegetarian
Mac and Cheese: 1
Bean and Cheese Burrito: 2

Wow. Where are the whole grains, fruits, and vegetables? It's nice to see that they get some beans twice a month, but good lord. And those chicken nuggets and chicken tenders are totally deep-fried. Also, I don't know about the kids at this school, but salad bars can be a bit of a tough sell. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that salads from salad bars taste that good. It would be nice to see some fruits and vegetables available to the kids in other forms (like roasted veggies, fruit salad, carrot and celery sticks, or whole fresh fruit) along with some whole grains and beans.

To compare this to a school district that is leading the country, I checked out the Boulder Valley School District. They have what they call a "Harvest Bar" that includes fresh fruits and veggies (not just for salads). In that same month, the kids at Boulder Valley School District elementary schools ate the following (plus 1% milk, fresh fruit, and a salad bar):

Entrees:

Beef
BBQ ground beef sandwich or veggie burger: 1
Beef or veggie taco with beans and rice: 1
Pasta bolognese or marinara: 1
Beef or veggie nachos with beans and rice: 1

Chicken
Roast chicken or veggie patty with roasted or mashed potatoes & a whole grain roll: 2
BBQ chicken or veggie patty & roast potatoes with a whole grain roll: 1
Chicken or veggie lo mein: 1
Bean and cheese or chicken burrito with beans and rice: 1

Cheese
Cheese pizza: 4
Mac and Cheese: 1
Pasta marinara with cheese: 1

Notice that they have a vegetarian option every single day! That's so cool! And they have fresh fruit every day. And cooked veggies and whole grain products (like rolls)! I wonder if the rice served is brown rice? And notice how their chicken is often roasted instead of fried? I wonder if the salad bar refers to the harvest bar? And, of course, this school district has received a lot of publicity for getting rid of chocolate milk.

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A Comparison of School Lunch Menus | 11 comments

whole grain rolls (4.00 / 3)

I occasionally buy a sub sandwich from a neighborhood gas-and-go that offers whole grain rolls at the same price as white bread. Gosh, what a difference they make! Flavor is better, texture is better, I'm all for it.

A cook there said the whole grain rolls are popular, but I didn't ask her for a ratio. I get sandwiches made to my order, but the store also sells ready-made subs, and I don't remember ever seeing one made with whole-grain bread.

by: count @ Sun Jan 03, 2010 at 05:09:46 AM UTC

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The menus (4.00 / 3)

The comparison is especially interesting because yours is from a state that supplies much of the nation's fruits and vegetables. A person might think California school menus would be national leaders. Of course, Californa might boast districts with excellent menus and I just don't know about them.

Besides the quality comparison, other differences are that the Boulder Valley menu has much more variety, which would be good, and at least some of them probably do not come holus bolus from large freezer boxes. They are more labor intensive, in other words, which might mean more costly. Do you know anything about the economics of the Boulder Valley program? Is the budget competitive with that of other Colorado districts? Do parents need to pay extra to cover the costs of better food?

by: count @ Sun Jan 03, 2010 at 05:20:02 AM UTC

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Ann Cooper... (4.00 / 3)

In case you didn't know, the woman running Boulder Valley SD's lunch program came from Berkeley just this year -

Cooper now plans to do the same thing at the Boulder Valley School District in Colorado. She says the district is about four times the size of Berkeley, with 60 schools and 29,000 students. Eventually, she hopes her new consulting firm, Lunch Lessons LLC, and her nonprofit Food-Family-Farming Foundation will help put other districts on the fresh-food track.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

by: JayinPortland @ Sun Jan 03, 2010 at 05:29:48 AM UTC

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Thank you. (4.00 / 3)

I didn't know this was her first year in Colorado, nor that she had already done this in Berkeley.

I wonder what "break even" means for Berkeley. Does it mean the district will no longer have to provide the extra $217,000?

by: count @ Sun Jan 03, 2010 at 06:02:05 AM UTC

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I believe... (4.00 / 3)

I could be wrong, but I believe "break even" means no money is necessary from the Chez Panisse Foundation to make up the difference between what the program brings in and what the Berkeley school district provides?

It's kind of a confusing sentence, isn't it?

Hmmm...

Jill (or a lurker in the know) would probably know for sure.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

by: JayinPortland @ Sun Jan 03, 2010 at 06:11:34 AM UTC

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This is really cool... (4.00 / 3)

From the Boulder Valley School District link -

A side serving from the Harvest Bar may be added to lunch from home for $0.75.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

by: JayinPortland @ Sun Jan 03, 2010 at 05:23:43 AM UTC

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I agree. (4.00 / 3)

The imperative would be to make the Harvest Bar offerings so enticing that parents and children want it.

by: count @ Sun Jan 03, 2010 at 06:04:38 AM UTC

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BVSD Food (4.00 / 4)

Just wanted to let you know that all of the rice is brown rice & all fo the grain products are whole grain - except for the Pizza Crust which is 51% whole grain.

by: chefannc @ Mon Jan 04, 2010 at 13:18:45 PM UTC

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budget (4.00 / 3)

Is the district funding the entire budget, or do you have outside help as in Berkeley?

Nice to see you here!

by: count @ Mon Jan 04, 2010 at 13:27:07 PM UTC

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Berkeley Funding (4.00 / 3)

Berkeley is totally self-funded at this point. There is no money coming in from the outside - the department is budget-neutral.

by: chefannc @ Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 00:00:31 AM UTC

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wow! thanks! (4.00 / 2)

glad to see you here. I hear you'll be in San Diego very soon and everyone here is extremely excited for your visit. I used to work at the Whole Foods you'll be at and the people there are pretty wonderful. It's a great neighborhood.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 00:11:32 AM UTC

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A Comparison of School Lunch Menus | 11 comments