Frequently Asked Questions and Answers...
 | Why should my child buy lunch/breakfast at school rather than bring it from home?
 | The
school lunch/breakfast assures that your child is receiving a
nutritionally balanced meal. More variety (as established by dietary
guidelines) is easy to achieve through school menus. Also, the Federally
subsidized meal is often less expensive than a meal of equal nutritional
value prepared and packed at home. |
|
| Are there other advantages to my child’s participation in the school
lunch/breakfast program?
| Students
learn good nutrition habits that provide a basis for better health
throughout their lives. School meals contain a variety of foods
and offer students exposure to new foods. The better nourished student
will generally have better attendance, be more attentive and have more
energy to cope with school day opportunities. |
|
| What is the school lunch/breakfast program trying to accomplish?
| The
primary goal of the program is to provide high quality, nutritious meals
to all students in District Eleven. Eligible students receive
meals free or at a reduced price. An additional goal is to keep
the price low for paying students. A nutritional goal is to provide ¼
of the daily nutrient requirements at breakfast and 1/3 of the
requirements at lunch. |
|
| Why are there so many "starchy" items on school lunch Menus?
|
The
American diet has been evaluated over the past few years and it has been
found that we eat more protein and fat than necessary. U.S. dietary
goals state that Americans should eat about 55% of their calories as complex*
carbohydrates. In line with this and the United States Department
of Agriculture guidelines, our menus offer the recommended amounts of
protein, fruits, vegetables, and grains. (*
whole grain breads, rice, and flours) |
|
Please
note: With children who are active it is very important to fill their
diet with a good supply of complex carbohydrates. If there is an
inadequate supply of these foods in the body and the child is very
active, the body will begin to use up protein that has been stored in
place of the complex carbohydrates. That protein is muscle tissue.
For more
information about carbohydrates in children’s diets, please go to:
www.cssd11.k12.co.us/fns/LowCarb_Response.htm
|
|
| What about the concern of excess fat in food being bad for children?
| Our
School District has taken many steps in reducing fat in school lunch.
Current National School Lunch Program Guidelines recommend 30% or less
fat in school lunches when averaged over a week’s time. Only 10% of
fat calories should be from saturated fat. |
|
| Can schools serve any foods they want?
| Menus
must meet school lunch program meal pattern requirements. Meals are
planned with a goal of providing students with one third of their
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for key nutrients and calories at
Lunch. |
|
| How do you minimize wasted food?
| To
decrease food waste in the school breakfast and lunch programs, we
utilize the "offer vs. serve" system. Students must select an
entrée, then they choose between 2 and 4 additional items. Students are
allowed to self-serve many side dishes, giving them control over portion
size. Very little food is discarded and some leftover food in
District 11 Secondary Schools is given to a local Care and Share™
agency. |
|
| What about the student who may still be hungry after the meal?
| Portion
sizes are determined by the quantities needed to meet age level
requirements for calories, protein, fat, calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A,
Iron and Fiber. Quality of food, not the large quantities, is what
builds healthy bodies. While not all students fall into the
category of still being hungry, there are those who may have eating
habits that are based on bulk rather than nutritional needs. The USDA
program is based on nutritional requirements of different age groups. We
do offer certain items of which students may choose to take additional
servings. These are typically vegetables or fruits. |
|
| What about the vegetables that are often not appealing to school-age children?
| School
age children often do not "like" and thus eat very few
vegetables and fruits. This can lead to a deficiency in many nutrients,
especially vitamins A and C. For this reason schools are required to
offer fruits and vegetables rich in these two vitamins two or three
times a week. Schools offer a variety of such food items so children
will be more likely to find one they will eat. |
|
| Why do you offer chocolate milk?
| We
offer chocolate milk in order to add variety. We offer a variety of
different nutritional milk choices in this District. It is up to the
parent to decide which kind of milk they direct their child to drink.
Chocolate milk tends to be viewed as a treat that most children do not
get at home. Offering it encourages children to drink their milk, and
thus help establish a habit of milk drinking that may last a lifetime.
The calorie difference between white milk and chocolate milk is minimal
and the calcium content is the same. |
|
| Why do the menus have so many items perceived as "junk" food?
| For
some reason, a lot of people feel that hamburgers, pizza, tacos, etc.
fall into a category called "junk" food. These foods do have
nutritional values that contribute to a balanced meal. Foods of no
nutritional value are not served. Foods such as hamburgers, pizza, and
tacos that are nutritionally prepared can be both healthy and readily
accepted by children. |
|
| Why can’t excess food be given to the students as seconds?
|
The food
service works very closely with the schools to have them project a
number of students eating lunch each day. Theoretically, there should be
very little left over. If you give something to one student
in the District it would be discriminatory not to make it available to
all students. The District is not in a position to offer
"seconds" to all students on a consistent basis.
Some
leftover food in District 11 Secondary Schools is given to a local Care
and Share™ agency. |
|
| What is commodity food and why do we use it?
| Commodity food is food that is made available to a school district through the USDA
(United States Department of Agriculture). The amount of food that a school district
receives is based on student participation in the school programs. The type of food
offered is based on the extra commodity foods available throughout the country. This food
is made available to the school district for the cost of delivery only. We use as much
commodity food as we can to keep costs down in the productions of meals, and thus keep the
cost down for the student. The USDA is continuing its efforts to reduce the fat, sodium
and sugar content of commodities. |
|
| Who writes the menu? What is the process?
| Our
dietitian, together with other members of the School District’s Menu
Committee develop a five week menu cycle. Student preferences,
nutritional value and kitchen requirements are all considerations when
writing the menu. |
|
| Why do we collect meal tickets at the end of the line?
| To qualify for a reimbursable meal – the meal must be verified at the end of the
line to be sure the student has selected the right number of items to qualify as a full
meal – it allows the student the option of selecting an entrée, beverage, and
offerings. This is how we are able to verify that we are serving the correct number of
components at each meal. All student meals are subsidized by the Government. |
|
| Why is the school lunch price set at its present level?
| The
price of a school lunch is based on the cost of the food, labor and
paper products used to produce school meals. A portion of the price of
school lunch is used to cover maintenance, utilities, equipment
depreciation, administrative and other related costs. The school lunch
program is self-supporting (not supported by the General Fund) and is a
non-profit entity.
The District 11 School Board sets meal prices each year as a part
of the budget process. |
|
| Who determines the price of the school lunch?
| The school district determines a suggested price of each lunch. The final decision is made by the District 11
School Board after public discussion. Prices are only increased when necessary to maintain
the program’s ability to cover all of it’s costs. The District 11 Food
& Nutrition Services fund is not supported by the General Fund and is a non-profit
entity. |
|
| What training do Food and Nutrition Service employees receive?
| Department
Leadership is continuously offering staff training sessions at all
levels of the District 11 food service team. Everything from
understanding food and labor costs to the correct way to prepare food is
available. As a result of this "on the job training concept",
most of the food service team is promoted from within. There is also
ongoing training in sanitation and safety awareness. All new Food
and Nutrition Service employees are trained in food safety within the
initial orientation period. |
|
| Why is there a price difference between the Student Meal and the Adult Meal?
| The
Government provides monetary support for only student meals allowing us
to charge less for the meal. However, by law, the adult meal price must
provide enough monetary support to cover the costs of food, labor, and
paper goods of each adult meal served. Although the entrée and milk are
a standard serving, items from the offering table e.g. fruit, salad,
vegetable may be chosen at a slightly larger portion. The adult meal
still is considered a bargain when compared to the nutrient value,
caloric content, variety, and price of many restaurants or purchased
"lunchables." |
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