Inside the Cafeteria: The Food Selection Process
NEIRAD enilno edition
When the fifth time slot comes around there is one thing on every students’ mind: lunch. The cafeteria is a place with shelves stocked with colorful snacks and foods. Many wonder how these shelves are filled and why they are stocked in this manner. Students are probably curious about how the cafeteria selects the food it sells. The process turns out to be quite complicated and hardly random.
Some students don’t agree with the food selection.“It’s either fries or nothing because everything else is gross,” junior Caroline Farrington said.
However, Deborah Bossie, the Food and Nutrition Director for the Darien Board of Education says, “The Darien School District is well known to have top- shelf foods that are purchased from state and Federal approved vendors.”
Lots of research goes into choosing the right meals. The lunch program has to abide by state legislative acts. For example, the beverage act puts restrictions on selling soda, Gatorade, candy, and other items that appear on a banned product list. If these regulations are not met, the school can be penalized. “Not adhering to the Beverage Law would jeopardize our education and building funding from the State.”
Outside of specific regulations, foods are picked with nutrition in mind, and then a second factor is popularity. Having people come in and sample the food helps Mrs. Bossie make decisions on what to sell. Meals such as the hummus dish started proved to be popular, so it has been put on the menu at Middlesex as well.
Some things that Mrs. Bossie is trying to add to the repertoire are California rolls and a pasta bar. Mrs. Bossie described the lunch plan as: “a program I am very proud of.” This is because the school serves more nutritional and organic items than most schools at the secondary level for almost three meals a day.
Also, the Darien Lunch Program has great participation and support throughout the district. And, more meals are made from scratch than most schools around the country. Some examples of the food that are made from scratch includes all of the pasta sauces, the tacos, and the quesadillas.
The Darien School district was one of the first to have zero trans fat on its menu. This change was made before it became a popular trend and six to seven years before the food pyramid was adapted to reflect this dietary concern.
A common complaint from students is prices. “The Darien Food and Nutrition Program is a non-profit, self operated school lunch program.” The cafeteria has to break even. The program is 100 percent self chosen and gets no money from the Board of Education. Prices are determined by food cost, labor costs, and things such as handling, containers, and paper goods,” Mrs. Bossie said.
The $5 combo meal at the sub-shop that includes a sandwich, half pint water bottle, and cookie, was created as an affordable package because of the economic hard times. Things such as this combo meal and the meal (hot meal) which is $3.75 stay at the low affordable prices, making the ala carte menu more costly to purchase. However, these two food choices need the most labor to be produced. Some ala cart food includes the chicken Caesar wrap ($4.75) and the chicken wings “wing dings” ($4.75). The meal includes a carbohydrate, protein, fruit, vegetable, and milk.
Though lots of research goes into every decision that Mrs. Bossie makes, some things still surprise her. One popular item she didn’t expect to take off was the hummus dish that includes hummus, pita, and assorted vegetables. The hummus meal cots $1.50 and was introduced last year. Sophomore Katrina Vassell, a common hummus meal customer said, “I really like it because it is not just vegetables. There are pitas to balance it out and the hummus makes it taste good, but it’s a healthy choice.”
One thing that Mrs. Bossie tries to push is local and organic food. Local produce such as fruits, vegetables, and eggs are bought fresh each week. When Bear Naked granola came out she supported the local company by implementing it into the cafeteria. Also the Planet Fuel drink ($2) in the aluminum cans was created by a DHS alumnus.
A common struggle between schools and the Food and Nutrition Department is related to bake sales. The problem is that it can’t be ensured that the food is being cooked within the same strict and regulated rules that are heavily mandated in the school kitchens. There are many risks in not knowing the origin of the food.
There are bake sales, but it puts the school at risk. It is easier if bakes sales are be before or after school because there is less liability for the district. However, during school hours it is hard to permit bake sales. If the food is packaged and not homemade, then there is less risks. A suggestion that Mrs. Bossie has is buying pre-packaged foods for fundraisers.
In order to keep the food organized and recorded, the cafeteria uses the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Program (HACCP). By doing this, there is a paper trail of where everything comes. Products can be followed from delivery to cooking/process to consumption. Every vendor has to ensure they are buying products from reliable manufacturers.
Neirad asked Mrs. Bossie if she thought kids make good food choices. “I think in this district they can.” The Food and Nutrition Department try to start exposing kids to things like whole wheat bread and organic yogurt in the elementary schools in order to prepare them. By the time they are able to make choices, they make better ones.
There have been a few changes this year to the lunch program. The big one is the new fourth lunch shift to give students time to go through the lunch line and still be able to eat. Also, there has been a designated register to only check out sub shop customers. So far this has greatly helped keep the lines moving.
Another thing that Mrs. Bossie is excited to find for the district is a 100% biodegradable water bottle called Ciao water. She is beginning to introduce it to the school by putting up signs and mentioning it on the morning announcements. They will be all one standard size and cost $1.25. They are 25 cents more than the Poland Spring water bottles, but there are no toxins and are better for the environment. Mrs. Bossie insists they taste better too.
Mrs. Bossie is very enthusiastic about this program she has worked so hard on. “I love kids and love food so it’s the perfect job.” Darien, you are in good hands.
