Students vote for menu items at food fair

Knox County students had an opportunity Thursday to try new foods for the schools’ cafeteria menu at the annual School Nutrition Food Fair. More than 400 students from Knox County Schools were invited and say this is one of their favorite field trips because they have input on school lunch.

“You get to eat like a bunch of food and it’s delicious,” said Jacob King.

“I’ve tried stuff that I’ve never tried,” said Aston Turner.

Students are using a checklist to highlight a happy or sad face depending if they like or dislike the food choices. King and Turner already picked their favorites.

“The pineapple and the breakfast pizza,” said Turner.

There were 89 vendors, the most the food fair has ever seen.

“I think when the kids come in to eat, they really want to know about stuff they’ve seen in the public sector or the private sector or maybe something that they have at home,” said Paramount Marketing Group K12 specialist Jennifer Hatmaker.

Hatmaker, a former cafeteria manager, says it’s important to meet the needs of kids all ages.