CHS adds tempting new lunch choices

Sophomore Milton Rodriguez, 15, had a football meeting over the lunch break Thursday, so he grabbed a slice of pizza from the Corner Crust, the newest food station at Carson High School.

"Downstairs, you have to pay for the full meal and wait in line," he explained. "Here, you just pay for the pizza."

Carson High School is one of six schools nationwide to implement an Italian bistro-type program as part of food-service provider Aramark's offerings. The Corner Crust opened this year in the upstairs cafeteria with high-top tables where students can stand and eat.

Students can now choose from a selection of pizzas in warmers, along with fresh fruits and vegetables. In October, he said, Aramark plans to roll out more options, including paninis, calzones and other melts.

Scott Tarrant, Aramark's food services consultant, said the pizza station feeds about 200 students in 10 to 15 minutes each day.

And that's the goal. The school district switched to the contracted provider, Aramark, last year as a means to save money on the school lunch and breakfast programs.

In order to do so, more students need to participate. Tarrant said participation has increased at the high school - about 525 meals a day - and he hopes to see more students participating throughout the district as the school year progresses.

"Our participation is almost more than double what it was last year," he said. "It's probably triple. And it's only the second week of school."

In addition to the upstairs renovation, new stations have been added downstairs at the high school as well. A taco bar opened in the main cafeteria to supplement the hamburger bar, deli and more traditional station with a rotating entree.

A new station, featuring a sampling of selections from the other stations, also opened in the school's north foyer, a popular student hangout.

Student Brandon Nieto, 15, says it's working. Although as a sophomore he's free to leave campus at lunch - freshmen are required to remain on campus - he chooses to stay most days.

"I like the hamburger bar," he said. "There's more variety."

Changes have been made to other schools throughout the district as well, including Carson Middle School, where specific foods have been assigned to designated windows.

Tarrant said Eagle Valley Middle School's program will be revamped when the remodel is complete next year.

The school district has spent up to $700,000 per year on the nutrition program in the past. Last year, officials budgeted $200,000 for it, but because of a miscalculation, ended up spending nearly $540,000.

Finance director Tony Turley said the miscalculation has been resolved, and he expects to spend between $125,000 and $200,000 on the program this year.

But, he said, the changes are not just aimed at increasing the bottom line.

"We want to try to increase participation so we can have healthier children," he said.

He said nearly half of the district's student population qualifies for free or reduced-cost lunch.

"If they're not actively participating in the program," he said, "they may not be getting anything good to eat at home, either."

He encouraged parents to look into eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches for the added benefits, such as discounts on college-placement exams and grants for higher education. He said it is unlikely the nutrition program will ever break even - Clark County is the only district in Nevada whose program does so - but the higher the participation rate, the less the district will have to pay, and the better off the students will be.

"The overriding factor is we want to feed kids," Turley said.