In between the healthy versions of tried-and-true kid favorites, menus at Maine’s RSU 23 feature specials to rival local lunch hot spots. Students can choose dishes including Chicken Bahn Mi style whole grain rice bowls and featured entree salads, like this month’s Autumn Salad of grilled chicken, cinnamon roasted butternut squash, goat cheese, blueberries and sunflower seeds over mixed greens with homemade maple balsamic dressing. The Food and Nutrition Services team prides itself on including made-in-Maine foods on breakfast and lunch menus every day for its 700 students in three schools along the pristine Maine coastline of Old Orchard Beach.
“We operate three separate kitchens at our schools and up to 50% of our meals are scratch-cooked,” said Caroline Trinder, Food & Nutrition Services Director for RSU 23.
Among the Maine-grown products often served are romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and potatoes. All the milk served to students of Old Orchard Beach Schools comes from Maine-based Oakhurst Dairy.
Trinder says one of their most popular items is homemade pizza with a crust made with 100% Maine grains by a local company, The Good Crust. An additional benefit to working with the local company, the school nutrition staff participated in lessons with the team on ways to prepare grain dough and serve it with popular toppings.
The addition of a culinary supervisor in the nutrition department has allowed them to provide more nutrition education and get students more engaged in menu offerings. The day before new menu items are introduced, the team likes to provide samples to students so they’re more likely to choose the offerings. Samples have included buffalo cauliflower with Maine-grown cauliflower and smoothies featuring Maine blueberries.
The RSU 23 nutrition team also finds introducing foods to younger students has a positive impact on their future lunch choices. They offer a rotating entree salad option for students starting in third grade and Trinder says a quarter of their students in third to eighth grades are selecting salads for their entree.
The nutrition team also encourages teachers to grab a tray and have lunch with students. Special menu options have been created to offer the teachers first, such as Chicken Bahn Mi-style rice bowls with whole grains.
“If the students see their teachers eating the school lunch, they are more likely to eat it as well,” said Trinder. “After receiving teachers’ feedback on some of the special items, they end up on the rotating lunch menus for students.” The rice bowls were so popular with teachers, that they were offered on the menu at the high school the following week.
Trinder feels that smaller school districts have some advantages in being able to try new menu items to see what works and doesn’t work. At the high school, a Make Your Own Sub-Bar Day that was set up like a Subway drove increased school lunch participation. The first time they offered buffalo chicken wraps, the sandwiches sold out in the first lunch period.
“I like to remind myself it is not nutrition if they don’t eat it,” said Trinder. She feels that when they receive notes from students, it shows that they are doing their job in making a positive impact.
Maine is one of eight states now offering free school meals for all students.