Homework: Your school district’s menu(s)

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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!

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

  1. I actually found 2 sets of menu's – 1 for breakfast, and one for lunch. I guess the district (my kids are still pre-K) actually serves breakfast to those there early enough – available to anybody instead of only low income.

    Lunch – http://www.d91.k12.id.us/foods/lunch.pdf
    Breakfast – http://www.d91.k12.id.us/foods/breakfast.pdf
    Me- surprised. Lunch didn't seem too bad, although see nothing a pizza every week (not greasy pizza, but domino's, Little Ceasars, etc), really surprised me. I wonder if it's because the school year is almost over.

    Breakfast isn't nearly as healthy – but it's definitely not bad. And in some cases, looks good.

  2. Aramark was a new food provider this year:
    http://www.brentwood.k12.mo.us/foodsvc/index.html

    They have a salad bar and a fresh salad option available every day. There's also a link to all the nutritional information on this page. They also have an email link available on the school's website so you can send comments directly to the food service director.

  5. Here is one of the elementary school's menu (k-4 grades):
    http://cheltenham.org/lunch_menus.cfm?mycat=43&school=15

    It reminds me a lot of the pictures you've taken, and what Jamie Oliver saw at that high school. Some days aren't abysmal, but things like breakfast funnel cake and syrup for lunch? Who thinks up these meals, and since when is funnel cake a main course?

    The high school doesn't have one since they do more of an a la carte, several different lines. From what I can remember from when I was there (not very long ago, though I rarely bought lunch), there's a salad and wrap/sandwich line, a snack bar, a $2 meal of the day kind of prix fixe option, and then the a la carte chicken fingers, fries, mozzarella sticks – you know, the "good" stuff. People did get the salads – especially girls – but loaded it with dressing. All in all, it wasn't good several years ago and I doubt that it has changed. There are also vending machines full of junk (and I think still soda, though maybe they removed that).

  7. http://www.usd329.com/Menus/Files_menus/may_lunch.pdf

    One menu district wide. There are several towns that make up the district. The district is comprised of two elementary schools (K-4)are in two different towns, a middle school (5-6) and junior high (7-8) in another town, and the high school which is in the same town as one of the elementary schools.

  8. http://www.frankfort.usd380.com/Calendars.html

    I never realized how good we had it until I graduated, and now I miss school lunches! My favorites were the days with chili and bierrochs. There are quite a few terribly over processed items on our menu. All of the pizzas were disgusting and covered in grease. However, we did have several homemade nutricious items. Our school is pretty tiny and will likely have to consolidate with neighboring towns in the future. The small size of the school probably makes it easier to include more homemade items.

  9. http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/05/08/995223

    I live in Robeson County. I don't have kids. If I did, they would eat homemade lunches. The selections are loaded with carbohydrates and a lot of the food is either fried or sweet.
    Super donut for breakfast. How is that healthy? It is horrible. They should be ashamed to serve that to children.

  10. This is a link to the company that my daughter's school contracts with to do their lunches. They are in a converted office building with no kitchen so they cannot cook anything. They did however find this great company that provides meals that are much healthier than many school lunches. Most days my daughter brings her lunch from home, but she is allowed to pick 2 days a month to eat school lunch as a treat.

    http://revfoods.com/browse/our_meals

    I wish the site had a sample menu. The meals are really varied. i.e. Smoked Turkey Sausage Jambalaya, Chicken Tamale, Teriyaki Chicken w/ stir fry veggies, and bbq chicken strips are some of our favorites. There is always a fresh fruit and vegetable, and nothing is fried.

  11. http://www.horseheadsdistrict.com/lunch/hslunch.pdf

    This link leads to my local high schools lunch menu, and i can tell you it is very different then when i was there five years ago. The words whole wheat never appeared on our menu, and veggies were only ever listed and a veg side, also it seems the salad bar is gone, or perhaps they just no longer put it on the calander. When i was there our fries were fried not baked. I never ate the school lunch. I would get a cookie, or an ice cream or an oder of fries along with a drink as a snack and then eat a real lunch at home. Most lunches when i was there had beef and i dont eat beef. The vegitarian alternative offered was the salad bar that i was never convinced it was cleaned or the food in it ever changed. In elementary and middle school when you were required to either buy lunch or prove you brought one i generally got the pb&j that was offered every single day. It came as a cup with the peanut butter and jelly and two slices of bread. Even kindergartners where expected to make their own sandwhich with the lunch ladies there to show them how. Our big problem years ago were these silly little pouches of milk the district had contracted to use. You had to stab them with a pointy straw and even in middle school it was common to see a hand shoot up and a lunch lady drag along the trash and a bunch of paper towels to clean up an exploded pouch of milk. So i never ate much of my districts school food, but from this menu it does sound that they have tried to make it healthier.

  12. http://207.73.183.8/education/components/calendar/default.php?sectiondetailid=819&&PHPSESSID=9119b73309aef32c4db7fe621d9a70c1

    this is my sons breakfast (i think I see hot pocket how sad is that!) click on the dates and you can read the lunch menu…everyday second choice turkey roll up ugh!

    http://imlay.k12.mi.us/WestonElementary/MenuMain.htm

    this is my daughter's elementary lunch menu
    click on the week
    what the heck is a walking taco!?!???!
    is cheese bread the MAIN dish?!?!?

    UGH DEFINETLY THE UGLY!

  13. http://www.stathanasiuslouisville.com/lunch.php

    I'm an 8th grader at this school. I've been reading you blog since march and have found what you've been doing very risky but worth it. On the lunch menu, there should also be a list of extras including: water, propel, cookies (you can buy up to 3?!?), poptarts, chips, rice krispies, oreos, and more. Most off the kids at my school buy at least a cookie every 2-3 days. For myself its water everyday for an extra $ 1. I remeber the public school lunches vaguley; greasy and full of fat, I always brought my lunch.At my school I would say 1/5 of the studens bring their lunch and the others buy almost everyday.

  14. We offer lunch every day to about 3000 students and staff using a system called Offer Versus Serve. Offer Versus Serve requires that we offer a minimum number of choices (5), one from each food category (bread, meat/meat alternate, fruit, vegetable, and milk) and have the student choose a minimum number (3) for their lunch. Studies show that if the student is able to choose what they want, they will be more likely to eat it and thus get a healthy, balanced meal.

    Our lunches consist of an entrée item and a choice of fruit, vegetable, and milk. We also offer alternative lunches to those that may not choose what is on the menu for the day. In our Middle School and High School we offer a number of additional options as a way to please the increasingly diverse eating habits of today’s young adults.

  16. Here's the link to my school district's menus: http://www.westonk12-ct.org/page.cfm?p=71

    As in most districts, there are different menus for each of the schools.

    I'd have to say our lunch program is better than most, but could still use substantial improvements.

    The Two Angry Moms (who you link to), live in my town, and have done alot to get better food in the schools. But as I said, more work is needed.

  18. Here's the link for our k-6 lunch menu
    http://www.raypec.k12.mo.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=85
    Here are the 7-12 menus…I had never looked at them before but as a mom to a 7th grader next year I must say it is concerning. It reads like a fast food menu
    http://www.raypec.k12.mo.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=82
    And the breakfast menu
    http://www.raypec.k12.mo.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=83
    and the district approved snack list…we send snacks everyday and they must come from this list….when did a fruit snack become nutritious????
    http://www.raypec.k12.mo.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=800

    sigh…for now I'll send brown bags….sad to have to do since hubby is unemployed and the kids qualify for free lunches.

  20. I have many issues with the menu selection at my daughter's school. I think it's a shame that the phrase "prepared by your child nutrition staff" most likely means: unwrapped and heated when necessary.

    I'd like to know what happened to the cafeteria workers who really knew how to prepare and cook REAL food.??

    PB&J comes in the form of an "Uncrustable" (have you ever looked at the ingredient list?!) Here things are touted good b/c they aren't fried… but just because the foods aren't fried doesn't mean that it's a healthy option. Some foods like french toast and hot pocket type foods are cooked directly in plastic… what happened to the study that linked cooking foods in plastic to cancers??!! I also have issues with all of the fruit cups and such… they're loaded with sugars and corn syrups. For a district that is supposed to be participating in the farm to school program… I think it's ludicrous. Same for the milks– artificially flavored, sugar, corn syrup wonders. Sugar enhanced juices are considered a side. (For example, a child can get chicken nuggets, tater tots, juice and milk… and it's considered a whole meal.) Also, I let my daughter buy the other day b/c she begged and the menu wasn't half bad… then after school while discussing what she ate she tells me (very proud) that she had "Trix Yogurt". I was happy that she attempted to make a good choice… BUT… there is NO REASON that kind of yogurt should be served 🙁 Of course, I talked about the reasons why that kind of yogurt isn't good. (I am Contacting Child Nutrition to voice my opinion) Also, on Friday's they have ice cream and other junks available to the kids… of course, parents have to OK their child getting the stuff… BUT… I don't let my daughter buy it…so I can only imagine how she feels watching her friends devour their ice cream sandwiches and such.

    On a good note, students have the option of a salad every day (the salad usually is just a basic iceberg lettuce salad with shredded cabbage and carrots.) There is also an option for fruit.. usually apples and bananas are available… BUT… often under-ripe 🙁

    http://www.nhcs.net/nutrition/monthly_menus_copy(1).htm

  21. I have 2 kids – one in elementary and one in high school in a small town in the northern Virginia area. I have eaten a good many meals myself as I am a substitute teacher. I think all parents should come in and eat the food that their kids are getting – I think they'd be surprised. I let my younger son buy lunch once or twice a week, max. The rest of the time I pack something healthy. The older one buys every day – not because he likes the food, but because he doesn't want to deal with a lunch box.

    Vegetables are usually canned or some kind of tater-tot variation; occasionally an iceberg lettuce salad or raw carrots. Fruit choice is usually an apple or banana or mushy, sweet canned stuff (which is often frozen). They seem to really like their carbs – for instance, pretzels are almost always served with pizza. If a child doesn't want the menu options, they can substitute 2 cartons of super-sweet "kids" yogurt and a bagel, I think. What kind of meal is that? An hour later, they would have to crash.

    Today's meal was a real winner: pizza, pretzels, and (canned) parsley potatoes. Good if you're teaching alliteration, I guess. Not so good in terms of nutrition. Anyway, here is this week's elementary menu:

    HAMBURGER on BUN or HOT DOG on BUN
    TATER TOTS
    BAKED BEANS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    ELF GRAHAMS
    MILK
    PICKLES

    CHICKEN PATTY on BUN or COLD CUT on BUN
    OVEN-BAKED FRIES
    LIMA BEANS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    PUDDING
    MILK

    SPAGHETTI w/ MEAT SAUCE or BURRITO w/SALSA
    CHEESE STICK
    TOSSED SALAD
    GREEN BEANS
    BAKED APPLES
    FRUIT CHOICE
    BREAD
    MILK

    GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH or HAM & CHEESE on BUN
    VEGETABLE SOUP
    CRACKERS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    SUN CHIPS
    MILK

    PIZZA or TURKEY on BUN
    LIMA BEANS
    PARSLEY POTATOES
    FRUIT CHOICE
    PRETZELS
    MILK

    And here's a sampling of the high school menu (in addition to the entree, you can choose 2 sides – veggie, fruit or soup, but not all 3). Seems like pizza pops up a few times a week:

    SOFT TACO or PIZZA
    PEAS
    CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP w/CRACKERS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    MILK

    TURKEY & CHEESE on CROISSANT or BROTHER'S PIZZA
    TOMATO SOUP w/CRACKERS
    CARROTS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    MILK

    STEAK & CHEESE SUB or PIZZA STICKS w/SAUCE
    CORN
    POTATO SOUP w/CRACKERS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    MILK

    BROTHER'S PIZZA or CHICKEN BOWLS
    BROCCOLI
    VEGETABLE SOUP w/CRACKERS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    MILK

    SHRIMP POPPERS w/ROLL or PIZZA
    POTATO SOUP w/CRACKERS
    GREEN BEANS
    FRUIT CHOICE
    MILK

    I'd definitely like to see more fresh food like good salads (shredded iceberg is not a salad), less processed junk, offer bottled water or even unsweetened seltzer water as an alternative to milk. But with school districts facing severe budget cuts, I can appreciate why they don't have the money to put into kitchen equipment and staff to do more elaborate cooking. I wish there was a good solution to this problem. Awareness is a good first step, so keep up the good work, Mrs. Q!

  24. Howell, MI:
    http://www.howellschools.com/lunch_menu.cfm

    Mostly processed food, some fresh fruit (but as an option).

    You may be wondering what "Munch Boat" is. I did too, so I asked my stepdaughter who said it is basically a cart of snacks like yogurt, rice krispie treats, ice cream, etc. They get to pick 3 things and this is their lunch. Yuck!

  26. This is a link to all the San Jose Unified menus:

    http://www.sjusd.org/school/district-new/info/C211

    There are also links to other information on this page, such as: Meal Prices, Approved Snack List, Nutrition, etc.

    At first glance it doesn't look bad–there are a lot of options. Still, I have the time and means to help my kids make their lunches, so we only have school lunch once a week as a treat. The foods are HEAVILY packaged–a PB&J is really an Uncrustable.

  29. I live in the Austin Area and my girls attend Leander ISD, it is one of the wealthier districts and so had the oppotrunity to provide more options for the kids.

    They use Sodexo as well, and from what I can tell when I've eaten with the kids the first two or three menu items are pre-made and delivered to the school to reheat, but the last half of the choices are fresh made. There is always a vegeterian offering and fresh fruits and veggies every day.

    My youngest child has special dietary needs and so takes her lunch every day, my oldest child eats hot lunch most days as that's what is cool in 5th grade, she only takes her lunch when she doesn't like what's on the menu.

    I worry about Middle school though, as it seems they offer the "main line" and then a "Market Zone" which looks like salad or potatoes, a "Pizza Zone," a "Burger Zone" a "Fiesta Zone" and an "Energy Zone" None of the options look terribly healthy in any line but the Market Zone. Maybe I can convence my future 6th grader to pack her lunches…

    Link:
    https://www.sodexoeducation.com/segment_0200/district_6306/ENM/hp_district/

  32. I checked out a handful of menus. I would venture to say that most school offer some fairly healthy foods. I think where the real change needs to be is with the QUALITY of the food.

  35. Here is a link to the menus for Portland (Oregon) Public Schools.
    http://www.nutrition.pps.k12.or.us/.docs/pg/10250

    I have seen a lot worse; in fact, the school lunches I ate as a kid in Connecticut were a lot worse. I was thrilled when my family moved to central New York and my new school sold pizza bagels: plain bagels cut in half, topped with tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella, and toasted under the broiler.

    My kindergartner started this school year packing his lunch, but after a while he started asking for school lunch like his friends and I set up an account for him. Now he wants school lunch every day. I agreed on two conditions: that he choose white milk over chocolate milk as often as he could (I know the chocolate is hard for little kids to resist) and that he always get something from the fresh fruit-and-veggie bar, which is all-you-can-eat for the hot-lunchers. He is eager to report every night on what he got from the fruit-and-veggie bar. Sometimes they "cheat" and put in stuff like Craisins or cornbread, but they also often have great stuff like locally grown pears.

    My 3-year-old attends a daycare center where lunch is cooked from scratch. The kids like the food so much that it's pretty much only the kids with food allergies who bring lunch; parents even ask the cook for her recipes! The cook uses some shortcuts like canned tomato soup — she has to feed about 150 kids — but on the whole, the menu is quite good. There is no red meat; the protein comes from turkey, cheese, beans or eggs. The kids always get fruit or vegetables on the side. Sample meals: cheese lasagna with green salad, turkey and mashed potatoes with green beans. Every Wednesday is soup day and one of the most popular soups is a Chinese-style soup with noodles, tofu and peas!

  38. I work in the kitchen of a private school and wee have recently created this blog to tlak about lunch…

    http://mcgilliskitchen.blogspot.com

    We have definite room for improvement, but we do make most things from scratch and try to be pretty healthy. We are a kosher style school, so we are a little carb heavy and we know it.

  41. http://www.vcs.fayette.k12.il.us/lunch/lunch.html high school menu

    http://www.vcs.fayette.k12.il.us/lunch/elunch.html primary, (pre k -1), elementary (2-4), & junior high(5-8)

    the main problem i see is too many carbohydrate sources, but i am looking at it from a type 2 diabetic view as well. with diabetes rampant in both sides ( great grandparents, grandparents, & parents), i want to know what they are eating and they need to be aware of the consequences of their eating choices.

  42. Here's the link from Oakland Unified School District in California (a district recently out of state receivership after bankruptcy). This allows you to see all the different menus from different school programs, from preschool to high school.
    http://publicportal.ousd.k12.ca.us/199410925191323250/site/default.asp
    This has gotten a lot better since we started; 3 years ago, when my son was in Kindergarten, corn and potatoes were the most common vegetables.
    We don't ever use the school lunch, though. It still comes in individual plastic-covered, reheatable trays (very unappetizing) which makes me hate the whole idea. But that's not the main reason. The main reason is that my kid hates cheese, especially melted cheese. Many of the lunches include melted cheese, and they are not entirely consistent about serving the thing that's on the menu. A couple of times, early on, we picked a pasta day, and they ended up offering a bean and cheese burrito instead. That did it; my son insists on taking a packed lunch.

  44. Everyone eats the same things in our school, and they are prepared by two cooks every day.

    http://www.yarbrough.k12.ok.us/

    Both the breakfast and lunch Menu's are located on the list towards the bottom of the screen, just scroll down, and there's an entire years worth of menus listed

  45. http://doversherborn.org/~janelle_madden/regionalmenu.htm

    This is my middle schools lunch menu. Notice how it says "fresh" pizza house pizza. "fresh"-in quotations! The food here is OK. the pizza is usually gross. The pasta is good. All the bread is whole wheat. I like the mozarella sticks. The french toast is ok…but the sausage they serve with it is horrifying. The hotdogs bounce. Generally this school does fine but some of the food is just gross.

  46. http://www.chartwellsschooldining.com/ipsd204/content/home.asp

    We had an institute day today, so lunch wasn't served, but yesterday they served

    Soft Shell Tacos w/Chicken
    or *Vegetarian Refried Beans
    Or
    Cheeseburger
    on a Bun
    Golden Corn
    Chilled Peaches
    Choice of Milk

    It is pretty processed, although I notice that some healthy options are occasionally available. Lots of beige items. I wouldn't eat it.

    Here's the May elementary menu:
    http://www.chartwellsschooldining.com/ipsd204/content/menus/ElementarySchool/elem.%20lunch%20menu%20may%202010%20update.pdf

  48. I thought my school was just bad, until I realized that they are actually following the district's policy of pizza/chicken patty/burger with optional entrees that I hardly ever see at my school. I also don't see most of the sides other than the occasional sad-looking apple or orange.

    http://www.bcps.org/offices/ofns/menus/

  49. Here's my district's link: http://www.louisa-muscatine.k12.ia.us/Schools/May%20June%20Menu.pdf
    You'd think, being in the middle of a cornfield, we'd have healthier food. Nope. Although, in the fall, our food service director actually goes to local markets to get fresh tomatoes, melons, etc. But the rest of the time, it's processed, high fat, high sugar, high sodium stuff that I almost never eat. (I'm also a teacher.) The rest of the staff thinks of me as the food police because I bring really healthy foods from home…today my principal jokingly talked about my lunch being "humuus and organic snails, or something!" It's OK, I can take it.

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