4 K-12 menu items making their debut this fall

The new school year means plenty of new items making their debut on K-12 menus. Check out four new additions coming to schools across the country as students return to their classrooms. 

1. Yogurt banana split 

The K-12 by Elior team at Renaissance Charter School at Crown Point in Ocoee, Fla., added a yogurt-based banana split to the menu this year, and it has already become a favorite among students. The dish includes low-fat vanilla yogurt, a fresh banana, scratch-made low-fat granola and fresh strawberries. 

2. Overnight oats and a Mediterranean salad

The nutrition team at Cincinnati Public Schools aims to add more scratch-made and plant-forward menu items this fall. 

New for breakfast this year is overnight oats using non-fat yogurt instead of milk. Students can also top their oats with fresh fruit. “It has been a hit with our students, especially our student-athletes,” says Food Service Director Jessica Shelly. 

An overnight oats concept uses yogurt in place of milk. | Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Public Schools

At lunch, students can enjoy a plant-forward Mediterranean salad that contains hummus as its protein source. 

3. Apple pie parfait

Gwinnett County Schools in Suwanee, Ga., will be celebrating its second annual Apple Fest in September. As part of the festivities, the nutrition team will be serving an apple pie parfait made with low-fat vanilla yogurt, fresh apple slices, brown sugar, cinnamon, sea salt, margarine and lemon juice. Throughout the month, students will also get to enjoy five different apple varieties grown in the state. 

This apple pie parfait will make its menu debut this September. | Photo courtesy of Gwinnett County Public Schools

4. Regular and spicy wings

To prepare for the new school year, the nutrition team at Livingston Parish Public Schools in Livingston, La., was looking to update its middle and high school menus. 

“We were interested in something familiar, but trendy,” says Supervisor of Child Nutrition Programs Sommer Purvis. “Several of us in the office have high school students, and we wanted to add something we thought students would order from a restaurant.”

The team landed on chicken wings, and after receiving positive feedback from students during a taste test, both regular and spicy wings will be offered for lunch beginning in October.