School district shows how the menu gets made

Nutrition Services directors from the Carson City School District recently wanted to show community members what makes a better meal for students. So they put their teriyaki chicken and cheese pizza to the test.

The food department was highlighted for the first time during a quarterly Professional Learning Community meeting Nov. 15 at Carson High School. The regular discussions seek community engagement from local stakeholders to improve the district’s strategic plan and school priorities.

Nutrition Services Director Elizabeth Martinez and food service management company Chartwells’ Director of Dining Services John Worring create Carson City schools’ menus and comply with federal nutrition regulations. They spoke on current operations and the educational aspects to providing daily breakfast and lunch programs.

“There are a lot of regulations that come with what we’re allowed to serve all the way down to the calories in the food,” Worring said. “We try to choose better products. Purchasing a better product is a step in the right direction to make sure the kids are getting a good meal.”

CCSD’s Nutrition Services is a participant in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s program to receive federal reimbursement. The financial assistance maintains successful operations in school dining facilities and product purchases to create the healthiest and most diversified menus, Martinez said.

It also helps to stay in compliance with USDA’s dietary requirements for students. For example, for breakfast, the USDA requires schools to provide 1 cup of fruit, 2 ounces of grain, which can include an ounce of grain and an ounce of protein, and 1 cup of fluid milk. For lunch, schools are required to have one-half cup to 1 cup of fruit, three-quarters cup to one cup of dark green, red or orange, legume or starchy vegetable, 1 or 2 ounces of grain, 1 or 2 ounces of protein and 1 cup of fluid milk.

Schools are required to buy American products and abide by income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced meals, Martinez said.

But cost to families still looms on the horizon. The district has yet to determine the future of feeding students universally once the state’s free meal program ends in the 2024-25 academic year. Assembly Bill 319 from the 82nd legislative session this year would have provided an additional $43 million to the Nevada Department of Agriculture for universal meals for students to keep all students fed until then but had been vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo. Instead, CCSD's funding is from American Rescue Plan Act set aside for this purpose. However, Martinez and Superintendent Andrew Feuling say this could look differently for 2024-25.

“Next year is going to be interesting if we have to start charging for meals again,” Feuling said. “We’ll only have 30 days to get all their applications in. That’s going to be a big change. We’ll have to communicate that to our families really well.”

If students were to be charged for meals now, it would cost high school students $3.25 for lunch and $2.75 for breakfast, middle school students $3.10 for lunch and elementary students $2.95 for breakfast.

Martinez said the difference in prices is due to student choice and pattern in eating. Feuling added it’s difficult to find a decent meal elsewhere at a comparable rate.

“If we do a serving model where students get to choose, high school and middle school students are going to take more than a third grader (to feed),” she said.

Martinez updated families on how Carson schools’ food programs are faring, noting sites like Fritsch Elementary, which has experienced success to date for 2022-23 because lunch has been popular, she said. Students save up their participation points, or “Bark bucks,” to help out in the kitchen and pass out condiments, she said, and staff members play music on Fridays.

She also invited Celina Barajas-Madrigal, coordinator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) for the University of Nevada, Reno’s Extension office, to speak to new programming available to 350 school-age youth through direct education, policy and systems.

Extension is rolling out a six-week curriculum called “The OrganWise Guys” targeting third- through fifth-graders using 10 organ characters to encourage healthy eating in school lunchrooms. The program will be introduced to fourth-grade teachers at Fritsch next month.

Martinez and Worring highlighted other interactive programs and apps available to families and educators to teach students about nutrition. Nutrislice, for example, gives families access to Web-based menus and research carb counts or allergen information. Mood Boost was developed to encourage student learning by combining food samples and enhance their understanding of new ingredients while demonstrating how grains or fruits might make a person strong or confident.

Martinez participated this March in the School Nutrition Association’s annual Legislative Action Conference in Washington, D.C., and said she plans to attend in 2024. The LAC brings together about 800 school nutrition professionals from across the country to call upon Congress to increase federal funds for school meals. The gathering also provides an opportunity to discuss supply chain issues and staff shortages. More than 99% of respondents were affected by increasing costs, according to SNA’s 2023 School Nutrition Trends Survey.

In a question-and-answer session addressing concerns about making sure all students are fed, Worring said he wanted to build on the district’s program and address any concerns and promote healthier menus for students.

“By providing substantial meals to everybody who wants one, that’s just a small way we can do the right thing by the students and to just help elevate the program,” Worring said.