Homework: Your school district’s menu(s)

Uncategorized, , ,

You have homework. I want to know what your school district is serving to students. Please post a link to your school district’s menu(s) in the comments as well as a brief review and commentary: good, bad, or ugly. Menu is plural because there might be differences within a school district (for example, the menus could be different in elementary school versus high school)

If you can’t find the menu(s), what can you find out about your school district’s nutritional guidelines on their website? Do they have a Local Wellness Policy (as mandated by the Child Nutrition Act)? Are they adhering to their own policy?

Readers email me links and menus as attachments all the time. In fact, a reader suggested this post. Let’s compare and contrast!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

242 thoughts on “Homework: Your school district’s menu(s)”

  1. http://calendars.halifax.k12.va.us/cgi-bin/calcium40.pl?Op=ShowIt&CalendarName=HCPS_School_Menus

    This menu shows elementary, middle, and high school menus. It gets progressively worse as they get older. I think our lunches are pretty standard – very processed and "kid friendly" with the occassional fresh fruit and/or veggie thrown in.

    I actually got the ingredients of all the food served in the month of April to the elementary students and blogged a review of the good, bad, and the ugly. http://www.graysonandharper.blogspot.com

  6. http://www.d62.org/foodservices/menus.html

    Not too terrible, definitely an improvement from when I was in this school district as a student about 10 years ago. But I did notice an awful lot of pizza, burger and chicken nugget offerings. Plus, what is "100% fruit juice punch"? doesn't sound as healthy or good for students as "100% juice".

  8. Hi Mrs. Q,

    Our lunch menu isn't posted online, but I work at a school in a poor area and I can tell you that our lunches aren't nearly as nice as the ones you have posted. Many times, the kids will come back with a meal that has chocolate milk, french fries, pizza, and a cookie. I wonder why they come back with these unhealthy combinations? My guess is that they choose whatever they want from the line, and pick the unhealthiest choices. Their lunches from home aren't any better. We had a fieldtrip recently and many of the kids were given things like a large bag of chips for their lunch. It's frustrating, because I know these kids aren't getting nutritional meals at home, and since they're all on the free lunch program, I feel that the school should take responsibility for feeding them a healthy breakfast and lunch at school. I teach in the lower primary grades, and I've had quite a few students with high blood pressure, cholesterol, and one had already developed type 2 diabetes. Sometimes their parents begin to pack lunches for them after they visit the doctor, and sometimes they don't. It's hard to watch these students with severe problems eating french fries and pizza for lunch (it's served twice a week at our school). I'm sure their performance would improve if they were given a few decent meals.

    Thank you for your blog! Sadly, I wish my students ate nearly as healthy as your school!

    ~Mrs. H

  9. Elementary Menu for Newfield Public Schools in central New York:
    http://www.newfieldschools.org/elemmenu.PDF

    Bleh. Lots of beige. The elementary kids also have a la carte (chips, cookies, ice cream, etc.) that they can purchase from.

    The Middle/High School menu's are not available online, but I'm aware that they have an array of unhealthy a la carte options.

    I've been working hard at transitioning my daughter from hot lunch to packed lunches since the beginning of this year. Check out some of our lunch examples at: http://0307518.netsolhost.com/WordPress/category/food/schoollunches/

    We have a long way to go, but I'm happy that she's no longer taking in so much processed and high sugar foods. The chocolate milk alone is 25g of sugar, and my kiddo often had that plus a juice each day for a total of 40g sugar, not counting the other high sugar items they are served.

    What's interesting is that kids are nagging my daughter for parts of her lunch. So I don't buy the argument that kids only want crap-food. I'm told "it's what the kids like and choose" – well duh, if I had access to a lot of junk, I'd probably choose it too as a kid. Oh wait, I DID choose it! Every day for MS/HS lunch I had: nachos, extra large chocolate chip cookie, and a pop. I have my own health problems from years of bad habits that I'm in the process of repairing.

    Thank you for your blog – I appreciate the attention you're stirring up on this important issue.

  11. From Catalonia Spain:

    The menu from my youngest daughter's primary school, for the month of May. This is in Catalonia, Spain, so as the menu is in Catalan I have posted it on my blog and translated it. The ingredients are high quality and the food is made by hand. The parents pay 6€ a day for lunch and snack. The lunch is closely supervised and the kids are required to eat all of their food.

    My kids say that it is quite good, and is really food, like you would get in someone's house. The local kids say it's not so good though and that what they get at home is better.

    Here's the url: http://orenetaaground.blogspot.com/2010/05/comment-for-fed-up-with-school-lunches.html

  12. I currently live in Andover, MA. The lunch menus here don't look all that bad. It sounds like a bunch of it is made fresh and there are a number of options as opposed to only one possible combination each day. The price is a little higher than some schools, but this is an upper middle class neighborhood, so it makes sense. http://www.aps1.net/index.aspx?nid=92

    I grew up in Kinnelon, NJ and as I recall, the options were plentiful, but not terribly good. I can remember often opting for a side of fries, a carton of whole milk and a fresh chocolate chip cookie. There wasn't much regulation or oversight on what the kids ate and because lunch was only 18 minutes long it was just a matter of getting us fed and on our way. Here's the site for those menus: http://www.kinnelonpublicschools.org/khs/cafeteria/pricelist.html

    Looks about the same to me…

    PS – Love that they celebrated "Quatro de Mayo"… I wonder what the thinking was there…

  13. The first menu here is for my school (middle school) the second is for high school. http://www.vbschools.com/food_services/menus/05secondary.pdf oh and what they dont mention on the menu is that they also serve french fries everyday for an additional dollar to the normal price of lunch. Good: I like the apples, and the other fruits they serve, I also like the french fries and chicken when their not soggy or deformed. I also like the side salad and I see alot of kids at my school drooling over them in the lunch line (even if they drown it in ranch)I noticed they served us sliced strawberries yesterday and lots of kids where drooling over those too. I look forward to the days they serve us mozzarella sticks because they are crisp and filled with gooey delectable cheese. Bad & Ugly:The lasagna looks like regurgitation because of its sickly color and the only reason most kids get it is for the cookie.(the Pierogie doesn't look any better)the fruit cups are soggy and all taste the same. The green beans are the same color as the floor tiles (a pale unappetizing green)

  14. St. Paul Elementary menu for May/June:

    http://www.sppscafe.org/sites/3045cf14-0431-4dc4-af6f-c79a83745084/uploads/RegularMenu_May-June_2.pdf

    Highlights include a decided lack of pizza, multi-ethnic foods that the kids seem to enjoy, many schools offer free breakfast to all kids (universal favorite is cheesebread on Tuesdays and Thursdays… I remember it as being very greasy when I was in school), some schools offer fruit and veggies in the classroom as a snack, and in general, the kids all seem to like it. Many of kids in our city are eligible for free lunch… it ranges from 45 – 90 percent, depending on the school (luckily, come summer, the local rec centers offer free lunches, because otherwise that is a lot of families suddenly having to buy food they weren't paying for during the year – some former foster kids once told me there were times that school breakfast and lunch was the only food they ate).

  15. http://www.staff.johnson.kyschools.us/schools/ces/Lunch%20Menu.htm

    My nephew goes to this school. He eats that crap at school and then eats the same crap when he gets home.
    They haven't changed the menu since March.

    The high school and middle school for my county doesn't even have a menu on their site. There is an independent school in "town" and they don't even have a cafeteria. But, they are "town kids" so they can walk home to eat or if they have cars they have an hour to go hit up any one of our seven fast food places or three buffett restaraunts.

  16. Hm, grades 1-6 get lots of pizza-like items and hot dogs…OR they can choose a Smuckers Uncrustable…the pizza is on Wednesday though and not Friday 🙂
    http://www.reyn.org/files/menu.pdf

    The junior high seems to have a deal with a local pizza joint on Tuesday's and the pizza day has moved to Friday from Wednesday inthe lower grades…http://www.reyn.org/files/menu.jh_.0510.pdf

    Still nothing I would want my child to eat – really.
    Interesting blurbs from the main school page:
    Lunch
    XXX Schools' federally supported school lunch program provides one-third of a child's daily nutritional needs in every meal. Lunches include 2 oz. of meat or alternative source of protein, 2/3 cup of fruit and/or vegetables, two grains, and 8 fluid oz. of milk.

    Cost
    XXX's lunch program keeps a balanced budget with no subsidy from the district's general fund. Despite rising costs, the program has not raised lunch prices in 20 years. Lunch prices are as follows. Milk and juice are available ala carte for 35¢.

    So how have they managed not to raise prices in 20 years? Outsourcing to local restaurants? Is this food similar to what you see Mrs. Q? Pre-made and heated?

    I don't have a child old enough to attend school yet but it scares me to think of the kids eating like this today.

  18. Here is a link to the JCPS nutrition services page. There are links to the menu as well as links to educational activities for elemetary school teachers to utilize in the classroom.
    http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/departments/nutritionservices/education/activities/index.html

    My favorite though is to follow this link
    http://www.nutri-cafe.com/ChooseSchool.aspx?State=KY&DistrictID=37

    to the Nutri Cafe Virtual Cafeteria. Pick a school (Elem, Middle, High) and fill your tray with today's menu items and on the right hand side of your screen you get to see the nutrition info and calories appear.

    To me most of the choices are not that great. I did play with this a bit.

    My kids have never bought a school lunch. They have always taken their food. One because of allergies and the other because the first didn't and I could feed her better foods than the school could.

    So why do I read your blog If my kids never have bought a school meal? Because I believe that what the schools are feeding are kids is causing problems for their future. Their minds and bodies are not being helped by eating over processed factory foods. That a significant number of children eat 2 meals a day in an institutionalized setting just makes me sad.
    I will soon have a grandchild and in a very few years that child will be in the school system. We have to change it. Things MUST get better.

  19. My kids currently attend a Christian preschool. Snack and lunch are provided but the menu handed out. They are served well balanced meals with an entree (Turkey/Cheese sandwiches, Soup, Spaghetti etc), a veggie (salad pretty frequently), a fruit and milk.

    Here is the Elementry school menu. http://www.desertchristian.com/menus/may10.pdf

    I like that fries aren't offered as the main veggie. Any time they are served, a regular veggie and a fruit are also served. K-1st meals are delivered to the classroom so they get what it says on the menu. The older kids get to go to the "cafe' where some junk food is offered.

  20. My kid goes to a private school, which uses http://www.choicelunch.com/Content/Pub/WeBelieve.aspx

    Lunches in her size cost about $4.50 ($4.95 for more expensive options). She gets lunch twice a week most week, and brings it from home other days. She gets to pick which lunch; in May she picked a breakfast-for-lunch burrito, bagel with cream cheese twice, cheese pizza twice, classic spaghetti with meatballs once, and cucumber sushi roll once. April was 4 cucumber sushi rolls, 4 cheese pizzas, and a bean and cheese burrito. (She could easily have something different every day, and she is not specifically vegetarian, despite her surprisingly consistent vegetarian choices.)

    There are also larger portions available for adults and older kids; a lot of the teachers buy lunch.

  21. Sort of a long link address but it'll get you there. I was SHOCKED to see one of the lunch entrees, ham and cheese on whole wheat had over 1000 calories!! OMG. Thanks for the homework – it was very informative.

    https://www.sodexoeducation.com/segment_0200/district_1754/ENM/Entry1/view_pdf.asp?school=6&mealCategory=10&month=2010/5&fichier=201005_51_200_6_10.pdf&monthSelected=May%202010&schoolSelected=Elementary%20Menu&mealSelected=Elementary%20Nutrient%20Information&erreurPdf=

  22. elementary: http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/NutritionServices/menus/lunchel.pdf

    middle: http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/NutritionServices/menus/lunchmi.pdf

    high: http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/NutritionServices/menus/lunchhs.pdf

    do you see the difference between elementary and middle/high? The same menu is repeated every week for middle and high school. And the elementary school menu offers some indication of which items are better choices than others. Not so for the older children.

  26. http://www.fayettevilleacademy.com/other_progs/lunchmenu.pdf

    I work at a private school so we don't actually have a cafeteria. We have a contract with a local restaurant to provide lunches for kids who order them. Often, the same restaurant provides staff lunches for work days. So I can honestly say the food is tasty.

    I'm sure it can be improved, but it's a lot better than most public school children are served. Unfortunately, it's also a lot more expensive (about $5 per lunch). Most kids pack their lunch and then it's a toss up on the nutritional value of that lunch.

  27. Here is the link to the lunch menu's for our school district. http://www.cpschools.com/departments/food_services/menus.php

    The food is pretty typical I think, most of it is heat and serve, they do use large plastic trays and sporks. My kids normally take their lunch but do love the pizza….. the optional chef salad is good sized and my kids do like that, of course they cover it in ranch dressing. 🙁

  28. My opinion: Doesn't *seem* too bad, although I have no idea how processed it is. My kids (13 &14) have brought a lunch from home since 3nd grade when they came home to tell me that the entire lunch consisted of corn chips, "cheese soup" (nacho cheese) and milk.I would say that perhaps once/mo. when I have dropped the lunch time ball they dine in.
    Heather Rich
    Roseville, CA

    District: Dry Creek
    Location: Placer County, California (outside Sacrmento)
    Elementary School:http://www.drycreek.k12.ca.us/do/supt/lunch/emenu.pdf
    Middle School:http://www.drycreek.k12.ca.us/do/supt/lunch/msmenu.pdf

  29. Here's a link to my school's menus–the food offerings are the same in each building, at every grade level; proportions are likely distinct by age and mandate.

    My take? Seems fairly standard for now-times…and nothing like the great, freshly-prepared meals serve when I was a student in the '60s and '70s.

    http://www.fredonia.wnyric.org/lunch

  31. Three different private schools:
    http://www.sagedining.com/sites/blessedtrinity/ (high school…this company offers suggestions to kids based on red/yellow/green system, nutrition education support to teachers, and an allergen list. Can't find an ingredient list.)
    http://atlantaacademy.com/Home_files/Formal_inset_02.png (Middle school…this is for a school that has no cafeteria…lunch is brought in daily by Chef Advantage http://chefadvantage.com/OurCommunity.asp )
    Elementary School:
    Lunch menu is listed under the password protected "Parent" section of the site so I'm not sure how to send it to you. It's pretty standard fare (chicken something on Mondays, pizza Fridays, breakfast for lunch every other Wednesday…etc.) I do know they offer water bottles and fresh fruit daily, there are some choices from an "Ala Carte" menu so some kids are eating pizza or a hot dog every day.

  33. This is the county schedule for Elementary:
    http://www.sarasotacountyschools.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Food_and_Nutrition/Menu_Downloads/May%20Ele%20Lunch.pdf

    This is Middle and High School:
    http://www.sarasotacountyschools.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Food_and_Nutrition/Menu_Downloads/May%20Secondary%20Lunch.pdf

    This is specifically my son's high school: http://schoolmenu.com/menu.php?gsid=22202

    Everything in the county are rated on a scale of G (go)S (slow) and W (whoa)

    I am glad that he is almost done HS and his college has much better food choices and my daughter goes to private school and there is no cafeteria, we pack lunches every day except Friday. Friday is "pizza" day and this year it is from Dominoes.

  34. Interesting to see what they had on the web site for a local elementary school here where I live (North Charleston, SC, Dorchester School District 2 – http://www.dorchester2.k12.sc.us/). My daughter is a toddler now but she'll be attending in this district in a few years.

    Apparently they use May as a 'clean up all the old food out of inventory' month. This is posted on the web site for all the schools: 'During the month of May, all cafeteria menus will be selected by the site managers on a daily basis to allow cafeterias to fully utilize existing inventories. If you have questions or concerns about your child's breakfast or lunch options, please contact the school's food service department.'

    So, if you have a kid with dietary restrictions or you occasionally pack a lunch for your child depending on what's on the menu, you're out of luck knowing what they'll be served unless you call the school! For the entire month of May!

    I'm happy I ran across your blog, Mrs. Q. It's made me much more aware of what I serve at home to my little girl (and what I feed me, too!), and that I should be diligent in understanding what she gets fed outside of my house at daycare. Keep up the good work – it is deeply appreciated.

  39. http://www.whps.org/lunch/menus.htm

    or

    http://www.whps.org/LUNCH/default.htm

    my son is really picky so only buys on pasta day, "Salad Bar" day or if there's breakfast for lunch. He seems to enjoy it. I sometimes go in for lunch with him and he eats his whole lunch as do many other kids. I do see lots of tossing out. If there's a teacher around and the lunch was packed at home, the teacher encourages the kids to put their uneaten stuff back in their lunch box.
    If nothing else, there's not enough time to eat.

  41. Here is a link to our school district's menu:
    http://macs.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/group_pages.phtml?gid=709653&nid=48570&sessionid=4b8cd27fc8899fa42e51416c2dab563f

    I live in a small town in North Carolina, and we have one of the only city school districts in the state, which means we receive taxpayer money from the city instead of state funds, like the county school system. At one time, my grandmother worked in this school system in the lunchroom, and back then they made pretty much everything from scratch. Now, most food is pre-prepared and heated. They do substitute wheat buns and only white milk, but at the high school, they serve sweet tea and most kids drink that instead of milk (including me….). The food isn't that bad – they make the best of what they are given. We do receive fresh local fruits and veggies, but I think they could be better utilized. I know my students would LOVE to have a salad bar!

  42. this is the school district I grew up in: http://www.wauseon.k12.oh.us/Menus/menus.htm

    I graduated five years ago, so it may have changed, but while the menu itself doesn't sound great, I can at least say that it is mostly prepared onsite, not just warmed up, and, at least to me, it tasted pretty good most of the time. at the elementary and middle schools (and probably the primary, but I never went there) they put everything on your tray before they give it to you, at the high school you pick what you want, and there was always a vegetable or two to pick from as well. there is an alternate a la carte line at the high school where they have crap like fries, nachos, cookies, "milkshakes" (actually soft serve ice cream), as well as other sandwich choices. at the high school you can (or at least could when I was there) request a chef salad in place of your entree in the main food line, which I actually did quite a lot.

    the menu for the district I live in now is here: http://www.tps.org/school-menu.html
    I have NO IDEA why it is flagged as an attack site, it genuinely is the site for my local school district and I didn't have any problems with it.

    on the surface it sounds okay, but I don't have any first hand experience with it so it could be awful. I honestly wouldn't be surprised, TPS has no money right now. my parents actually moved out of the city specifically so that me and my brothers wouldn't have to go to those schools.

  43. I work in the cafeteria at an elementary school in Modesto, California. I don't have any say in the school menu or what is being cooked/served from our main kitchen. We've been working on making our lunches more healthy and have had a consultant working with us for the past year. Things have slowly gotten better, but it's taking much more time than I think is necessary. And, it's frustrating! Here's the link to our May Menu.

    http://www.stanunion.k12.ca.us/ourpages/auto/2010/4/23/46391150/STANILAUS%20UNION%20MENU%20MAY.pdf?rn=2972344

    It's not too bad…except for the processed chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken and chicken fingers! We have a food bar where the kids pick their "cold" items like fresh or canned fruit, whole wheat dinner rolls, baby carrots, etc. Those items change almost every day. I think we are heading in the right direction, but not quite there yet!

  44. A link to our school district food & nutrition page. The links to the menus are on the left. http://www.boiseschools.org/food/index.html

    Recently, the state established new guidelines the schools have to follow. More whole grains, more fresh fruits & vegetables.
    http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/cnp/nutritionstandards/

    I'm still quite disappointed at the offerings. Sometimes the "salad bar" is nothing more than toppings for one of the main menu choices, and there is still too much sugar, refined grains and meat (really, can't they use other sources of protein once in a while?) But overall what I've seen at my children's school is much better than what I've seen here– but I believe our school does still need improvement, maybe even to follow their own menu more closely.

    Also, I love that the kids are introduced to things like jicama! And most of the kids like it!

  46. http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/pdf-files/Primary-May1-10.pdf

    http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/pdf-files/Primary-May2-10.pdf

    http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/pdf-files/May%202010%20Primary%20carbs.pdf

    http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/pdf-files/Inter-MAY1-10.pdf

    http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/pdf-files/Inter-Carb%20May-10.pdf

    http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/pdf-files/High-MAY1-10.pdf

    http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/pdf-files/High%20Carb-May-10.pdf

    In the past, our school corp. has counted fat grams, now I guess the focus is on carbs.

    My kids don't eat school lunch everyday. They look at the menu for the month and choose the days they want to eat, and the rest of the days they get packed lunch. My younger son(7) packs more than the older one(14). Neither of them has ever eaten school lunch every day of the week. It's pretty typical mass-prepared, processed food. High school and intermediate lunches are $2.00, primary centers are $1.65, breakfast is $1.00. Reduced price lunch is 40 cents.

  47. Chesterfield County School District

    Elementary Menu – http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/operations/nutrition_services/files/Elem_menu.pdf

    Middle School Menu – http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/operations/nutrition_services/files/middle_menu.pdf

    High School Menu – http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/operations/nutrition_services/files/high_menus.pdf

    Here is a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation about our school district's food service program: http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/operations/nutrition_services/files/Food-&-Nutrition-Programs-1.jpg

    I think it's great that our school district lists the nutritional information and ingredients list for the food served.

    http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/operations/nutrition_services/Ingredient%20list.pdf

    http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/operations/nutrition_services/files/Nutritional%20Information%20sheet%20for%20elem-ms.pdf

    I think our school district does a decent job but still has plenty of room for improvement. The quality of the meat in the ingredients list looks pretty suspect. A lot of schools get Chick-fil-A sandwiches once a month or so. Probably that's better quality chicken now that I think about it.

    I'm glad to see that next school year that there will be a major overhaul of the ala cart menu. They will be getting rid of stuff like Little Debbie snack cakes and other junk food.

    My son brings his lunch to school including milk in a thermos. Paying 60 cents for a carton of milk is nuts. I eat lunch with my son a few times a year and it's a mixed bag as to how nutritious kids' lunches are.

  48. We are a private boarding school. We offer full breakfast, lunch and dinner in our dining hall – only lunch is available to our day students. It also has a full salad bar (with two premade salads and make your own ingridients, a deli bar with lunch meats and meat salads, a stir fry bar and pasta bar. Here's our link http://montverde.net – click on parents and then choose lunch menu.

    Our county's public school lunch info can be found at http://tinyurl.com/3xdppht

  49. My kids generally don't like the lunches, but we are on free lunch, and we can't really afford to send lunches to school. I'm just grateful that we are able to have good breakfasts and dinners at home, because many kids in our district don't have that. Their school lunch is the best meal they get.
    the website is http://www.stvrain.k12.co.us/parents/schoolLunches/
    That has the menus and various other info.

Comments are closed.