Times-Review Newspapers | Eastern Long Island, NY - = The evolution of school lunch

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The=20 evolution of school lunch

Publication	The North Shore Sun
Date	September 27, 2007
Section(s)	Education
Page
Byline
Brief	Photo:47480,left,;Area = school=20 districts struggle to keep lunch programs out of the = red By Anna Gustafson As school officials attempt to tackle childhood = obesity=20 with expanded menus offering healthier meals, it can = be=20 difficult for districts t

Area school districts struggle to keep lunch = programs out=20 of the red By Anna Gustafson As school officials attempt to tackle childhood = obesity=20 with expanded menus offering healthier meals, it can = be=20 difficult for districts to keep food program budgets = out of=20 the red, and some local schools are finding financial = and=20 nutritional refuge in privatizing all, or part of, = their food=20 services. "We have a private food service that runs our = cafeteria,=20 which is less = expensive than us=20 doing it ourselves," said Mount Sinai superintendent = Jon Van=20 Eyk. "And from a managing standpoint, it's simpler. = [Private=20 food service employees] would have been our full-time = seasonal=20 employees, and now we don't have to deal with their = Social=20 Security payments or health benefits." While the Mount = Sinai=20 district doesn't make a lot of money off the program, = it is=20 self-sustaining: student food purchases pay for the=20 operations, Mr. Van Eyk said.=20 Though Mount Sinai officials have contracted with = the=20 private company Aramark for years, Longwood School = District=20 has just recently brought on a private company to help = with=20 its menus and marketing. This summer, Longwood officials signed a contract = with=20 Islandia-based Whitsons School=20 Nutrition, and since school began about three weeks = ago, the=20 district has already seen a spike in the number of = students=20 purchasing meals -- a change it attributes to Whitsons. "High school participation rates were at 25 to 28 = percent=20 in years past, and now we're at 40 percent," said Tom = Murphy,=20 Longwood's school lunch manager. "We'd like that to = continue=20 to increase. I'd like to see the junior-and = senior-high-level=20 participation rates at around 70 percent. We really = want to=20 give kids the most nutritious meal that we can, and = with just=20 under 30 percent of our students qualifying for free = or=20 reduced meals, we may be the only chance they get to = have a=20 good, nutritious meal." Longwood has not completely privatized its food = service.=20 All cafeteria workers are district employees and no = one was=20 fired when district officials brought on Whitsons. The district pays = roughly $1=20 to the company for each meal sold. Mr. Murphy said Whitsons has=20 made life easier for the district because it is in = charge of=20 the food -- they've been able to bring on a slew of = new,=20 healthier menu items -- and merchandising, corporate = slang for=20 trying to make whole wheat bread and milk appetizing = to a=20 generation of students who grew up on Coca-Cola ads. While this may seem = like no=20 easy feat, Mr. Murphy said the high school students -- = the=20 hardest of all students to get hooked on buying full = meals --=20 already have responded to Whitsons's marketing = efforts. "At the high school level, students would often = just get a=20 bagel, cookies, chips or something along those lines = instead=20 of opting for a full meal," he said. "But now the = cafeteria is=20 structured in the high school so it looks like a = college=20 cafeteria, which = means, for=20 example, students are seeing homemade pizza being made = right=20 in front of them. That makes a lot of them want to buy = that=20 meal." The company has doubled the amount of complete = lunches=20 being served in the high school. That not only means = students=20 are eating fruits along with their pizza or burgers, = but=20 they're learning healthier eating habits that can go a = long=20 way in preventing obesity, Whitsons district manager = Christine=20 Kunnmann told Longwood Board of Education members = during last=20 Thursday's board meeting. This is good news to school officials who have said = they=20 hope to curb national obesity rates that have tripled = over the=20 last 30 years, according to the U.S. Center for = Disease=20 Control, by offering healthier items, such as the = sushi Whitsons plans to soon add = to the high=20 school menu. "This program goes a long way in addressing the = health=20 issues for kids," Longwood superintendent Allan = Gerstenlauer=20 said at the meeting. "This is important as we face the = epidemic of childhood obesity." The healthier foods -- even the salads -- haven't = been=20 scorned by the students, and students seem to be = ushering in=20 new menu options with great enthusiasm, according to = Longwood=20 Board of Education vice-president Michael Loguercio. "I can't tell you how many neighborhood kids have = thanked=20 us for the changes to the menu," he said at the board = meeting. The Shoreham-Wading River School District also has=20 contracted with a private company, Steven Marcs = Creative=20 Catering, which runs = the high=20 school food program and the brown bag lunch service at = the=20 elementary and middle school levels. The district has a unique food program compared to = its=20 local school district counterparts, and it has a = cafeteria=20 only in the high school. At the elementary and middle = schools,=20 superintendent Harriet Copel said students eat brown = bagged=20 lunches -- many provided by the private company -- = with their=20 teachers in small groups. "It's pretty cost-neutral, though we have some cost = benefits because the company rents the [cooking] = facility from=20 us," Dr. Copel said. She added the district is pleased with its decision = to=20 privatize and said it has signed a contract with the = company=20 for the next year. "Then we plan to go out for another request for = proposals=20 this winter to see who could service the unique needs = of our=20 district in the future," she said. =