Mount Vernon Schools nutrition director Mallory Gerber outlined some of the new changes for the nutrition department this school year, and other possible improvements to come for the kitchens.
One of the new additions to breakfast was a yogurt bar at the high school level, allowing students to make their own parfaits as a breakfast option. Smoothies were also a new option for high school and middle school students.
Gerber said that the district has also implemented share tubs, where people can return unopened food items they have pur- chased but not plan on eating for others to use.
“That has helped greatly reduce our food waste,” Gerber said.
Gerber is also working on rolling out some new made from scratch recipes to lunch menus. One of those items that has been favorably received is the rock and roll wrap, a Philly cheesesteak inspired menu item. The kitchens also work on having homemade cookies or desserts available every Friday afternoon.
Gerber said she is looking to have more local farm participation and partnerships with the school. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the district partnered with Buffalo Ridge Orchard to take place in the Great Apple Crunch, where students were able to enjoy an apple as a snack at noon. Leftover apples were used to make an apple crisp for a local dessert.
Gerber said she is looking to engage the elementary schools in helping to have some choice in what from scratch recipes that will be rolled out for their school, with students getting to vote between two lunch options and one of them appearing in the next month’s school menu.
She is also investigating options in both the high school and middle school kitchens for possible improvements that will allow more from scratch recipe cooking to happen for the district.
“I’m looking at ways to make things more efficient in both kitchens,” Gerber said. “We’re measuring the dimensions and looking at things like our water and drain lines. I have a few pieces of equipment in mind, like a nicer steamer and a tilt skillet that will help us cook more efficiently.”
Board member Tim Keegan asked about efforts to address negative balances. Gerber said if a student has a negative balance, they are not allowed to purchase additional ala carte items, but still able to get a meal at the district.
“That corrects for some students the issue of their negative lunch balance in the next few days,” Gerber said.
Gerber said the goal of having more from scratch menu options is to help reduce the cost to the district, as items cooked from scratch cost less overall.
Board member Lance Schoff asked about if there was difficulty in finding positions to cook at the schools, and Gerber said she has had a successful job finding people who wanted to cook and filling the positions.
Gerber said the choice to add more hands at the high school cafeteria was made as that’s where a majority of meals are cooked for the district, and having more hands available there to cook was beneficial.