THOMAS JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
School Lunch Menu
Objectives: At the completion of this case study, students should be able to:
1. Explain the difference between Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NSMP) and food based menu planning.
2. Recognize the many problems a school food service manager may encounter in planning menus.
3. Incorporate commodity foods into the school lunch menu planning.
THOMAS JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The Menu
Each year Irene Maiwald, the supervisor of foodservices for the Pleasant Valley School District, surveys one age group for overall satisfaction with the school lunch program. This year in the Spring she looked at the upper level elementary schools grades 4 through 6 which included Thomas Jefferson. (See student profile in Table 1.)
Satisfaction surveys were completed by students and faculty at the three schools serving fourth through sixth grades. Generally the students thought the food was O.K. They felt they got enough to eat and there was always peanut butter and jelly if they didn’t like the hot meal on the line. Some of the surveys indicated that the people who had early lunch had hotter food that was of better quality than the students who had third lunch. (See meal hours in Table 2.) Comments such as, “Food is dried out,” “Vegetables are very yucky,” “Hamburgers taste like hockey pucks,” “What is this mystery meat?” and “Why can’t we have McDonald’s Happy Meals or Pizza Hut?” were more frequent from the students who had the last lunch. One of the suggestions from the student surveys was to add sandwiches as a choice.
Pleasant Valley School District is a suburban district, very close to a city of 350,000 people. The district has a large proportion of middle class residents, most of whom own their own homes. The median price for a home is $175,000. There is a substantial population of poor families in the district as well. About one fifth of the students come from families which are considered to have earnings near the poverty line. The ethnic background is mixed as well. The students are predominately Caucasian but there is an increasing population of students of African American background (1 5%) many of whose families are employed by the chemical and banking industries. There is a small but increasing population of Latino students most of whom are relatively poor.
Irene creates a menu each month for the schools under her supervision. Generally many of the same foods are used but not always in the same order or with the same accompaniments. Irene is feeling considerable pressure to modify the menu in some way. Students who have grown up with quick service restaurants want to have more fast food type items.
School administrators are very concerned with keeping the costs of the meal low. They have also indicated that beginning in January they intend to put meters into each of the school cafeterias and charge Irene for the electricity, water and gas used in each operation.
Of late there have been increasingly confrontational news reports about the unhealthy foods available in school lunch programs. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that school meals were too high in fat, sodium and saturated fat. Then USDA Secretary Mike Espy commented, “So the news is simple: We can’t continue to deep fry our children’s health.1 The most recent regulation “School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children” required implementation of the 1 990 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Programs may plan menus based on Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NSMP), Assisted NSMP, or food-based.
Parents have called Irene to discuss the nutritional quality of the food. A recent call from a parent began, “I am concerned about the food offered at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. In the last three days lunch included chicken nuggets and French fries, hot dogs, and pizza. My husband’s family has a history of coronary artery disease and my son who is in 4th grade already has high blood cholesterol. If I knew in advance what was going to be served I would pack a lunch for Robert to be certain he wouldn’t eat these bad foods. I feel your menu is not healthy and you should do something about it. Don’t you care about the future health of your students?”
As Irene hangs up the phone, she thinks to herself, “Of course I care about my children’s health. But their favorite foods are high in fat. Do I need to cut out all fast foods or maybe even all fat from the menu?” Irene further speculates about the three options for planning menus. Mulling this over she thinks, “Maybe I should begin using Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NSMP). Possibly a computer will answer all of my questions.”
Irene has been trying to encourage students to consume school lunch meals. Much of the literature suggests that students who eat these meals are better nourished than students who bring their lunch or who purchase meals from off-grounds locations. Around 80% of the potential customers do eat the school lunch. Irene has made available pre-paid meals so that meal tickets may be purchased in advance. In the sixth grade a number of the boys buy two or three lunches each day using pre-paid meal tickets because they are so hungry.
Each year Irene receives a list of the types of commodity foods which will be available for the next year through the surplus foods program. The formula used to calculate her allocations are $.145 for each meal served the previous year to be used only to purchase commodities. (See list of available commodities, Table 1 follows.) She also can have access to bonus foods which she can get, if available, at no cost. She fills most of her purchasing requirements on the open market, however.
After you have read through the school lunch problem and complete the following:
List the issues Irene must consider when preparing a School Lunch Menu. Be specific about what she needs to make sure her menu provides.
Research Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NSMP) and compare/contrast it to standard food based menu planning.
What are the requirements based on the guidelines that need to be used for students at Jefferson Elementary?
What must be included for the meal to qualify for reimbursement? What qualifies as a menu item?
Helpful Resources:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DietaryGuidelines.htm
http://schoolnutrition.org/uploadedFiles/School_Nutrition/16_LegislativeAction/SNA_National_Nutrition_Standards.pdf
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/menuplanner.html
Table 1: Expected Commodity List For the 2012 School Year (USDA Food & Consumer Svc.Office)
Beans, green, cnd 6/10 Apple Juice 1 2/46 oz Chicken, frz cut-up 40#
Beans, vegetarian 6/10 Orange Juice, frz. conc. Chicken, frz breaded 30#
Carrots, frozen, 40# Apples, fresh 40# Chicken, frz. cooked,diced
Corn, liquid 6/10 Apple Slices, cnd 6/10 Turkey, frz, whole 40#
Corn, frozen 30# Applesauce, cnd 6/10 Turkey roasts, frz 4/8-1 2#
Peas, green frozen 30# Grapefruit, fresh, 34-39# Turkey, frz, ground 4/1 0#
Potato wedges, 6/5# Oranges, fresh, 34-39# Eggs, frz, whole, 615#
Potato rounds, frz 6/5# Apricots, frozen 20# Beef roasts, round 40#
Potato, oven fry 615# Apricots, cnd 6/10 Beef, frz, ground 36#
Potato, russet, fresh, 50# Cherries, red 6/10 Beef patties, extra lean 36#
Sweet Potato, mashed 6/10 Cherries, frozen 30# Pork, frz, ground 36#
Spaghetti Sauce, 40# Blueberries, wild, frz 30# Ham, water, cooked 40#
Tomato Paste Blueberries, cult, frz 30# Pork Ham Roast, frz 40#
Peaches, cling, sliced 6/10 Pork, Sausage Patties 1.5oz
Peaches, diced 6/10 Cheese, cheddar low fat 40#
Peaches, frozen, 20# Cheese, process sliced 6/5#
Pears, sliced cnd 6/10 Cheese, mozzarella 48#
Pears, diced cnd 6/10 Cheese, mozzarella lite 48#
Pineapple chunks 6/10 Cheese, american/skim
Mixed Fruit, cnd 6/10 blend
Prunes, pitted 25# Milk, NFD 50#
Raisins, 48/1 #
Flour, AP 4/1O# Rice, milled, long grain 25#
Flour, bread 5/1O# Oil, reduced fat 6/1 Gals
Macaroni 20# ctn Oil, vegetable 6/1 Gals
Macaroni, rotini, 20# ctn Shortening, vegetable 1 2/3
Oats, rolled 1 2/3 Spaghetti, enriched 20# ctn
Peanut Butter, cnd 6/10
Peanut Butter, reduced fat
Peanuts roasted, cnd 6/10