Coffee is Cool in School

Can coffee and kids co-exist? One district makes it work.

Foodservice operators, particularly in the higher education, business-and-industry and healthcare markets, know the importance of offering a good cup of joe. But coffee and kids don't really mix, so school foodservice providers have historically geared that segment of business to faculty and staff only, if at all. That is until recently.

FoodService Director - Canyon ISD - coffee

"We use skim milk in a lot of beverages and the sugar-free syrups," he adds, "and we better meet the needs of our diabetics as well as our calorie-conscious and fat-conscious patrons."

This year the menu includes food options such as sandwiches, wraps and composed salads, in addition to the previous selection of pastries; fruit, ice and yogurt-based smoothies; and hot and cold coffee beverages. Robinson is not concerned that offering more food items at the Java City locations will diminish sales elsewhere on campus, but rather, believes it will simply add to overall participation. "If anything we'll increase transactions especially in the afternoon when our student athletes are hungry, and our food courtyard area isn't open," he says. "They can grab a quick, healthy snack with quality calories. That's our main emphasis here, quality calories, not empty calories."

The new offerings will have the added benefit of decreasing wait times in other locations, he predicts.

Keep it small: While the district and the foodservice team found the coffee-shop concept suitable for their high schoolers, tougher nutrition standards imposed by the state of Texas on its public-school foodservice providers presented a challenge last year.

"The first year, we were very, very strong in sales, "it was new and we were not under [such] strict guidelines" Robinson explains. "Last school year, under stricter guidelines, we [could] only sell 'short' drinks which are 12 oz. [until the end of the last lunch period]. The prior year we could sell 'short,' 'tall,' or 'grande.'"

High school students have debit accounts with which they can pay for their purchases at the coffee shops. They also can buy gift certificates for each other or for teachers; and teachers sometimes give gift certificates to students as an incentive or as a reward for good performance.

Along with implementing the coffee shops, the foodservice team made other changes to make dining-in more attractive for students such as designing a courtyard area where students can eat, relax and socialize.