K-12 operators go clean label

Healthy habits start early—a rallying cry that’s being taken to heart by school districts all over the country.

“I don’t want to sound like an after-school special, but we really are what we eat,” says Micha James, M.S., nutrition services director for the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District at California. “As a nation, we’ve become so much more aware of the role that food plays not only in children’s health, but also in their growth, their ability to concentrate and learn and in their ability to become productive members of society.”

Increasingly, this has as much to do with what’s in the food as what isn’t, says James, including substances such as artificial colors and flavors, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives and antibiotics in meats.

James joined the 22-site, 10,600-student district in January—at the same time as a new supervisor—to rebrand the Nutrition Services department around a mission of offering fresh, wholesome, healthy foods as well as educating kids and their parents about the benefits of this approach. 

That has meant more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and fewer processed foods with cleaner labels. The district’s search for ingredients brought it to Foster Farms’ new No Antibiotics Ever grilled chicken thigh strips, which were first introduced on the menu under the banner of California Thursdays. This unique collaboration between the Center for Ecoliteracy and about 100 California school districts is part of the California Food for California Kids initiative, designed to serve healthy, freshly prepared school meals featuring California-produced foods.

“The Foster Farms line is a great example of a healthy, California-sourced product that really supported our mission,” says James. The precooked thigh strips have been menued in two different recipes so far:

Both items have met with very favorable response, and will be offered again as new menu cycles are developed for the upcoming school year.

Part of the secret to incorporating healthier ingredients in school meals, says James, is presenting them in ways that are familiar and delicious—kids aren’t going to try new items if they’re not. That’s been much of the focus for the foodservice department this spring.

But these new menu items don’t exist in a vacuum—there will also be a big push for the district to change kids’ habits both at school and at home. “The habits we learn early tend to stick with us all our lives,” notes James, whose background is in health psychology and nutrition. “This is especially true around food. So, we’ll be focusing on educating students about where their food comes from, what’s in it and the role that food plays in overall wellbeing.”

And because all that effort will be wasted if kids go home to the same unhealthy food habits, outreach to parents will also be very important moving forward. “We want everyone in the community to enjoy a better relationship with food.”

Ultimately, adds James, this will help change the negative stigma attached to school lunch. “Basically, my feeling is that if I wouldn’t eat something myself, I’m not going to serve it in our schools.”

Antibiotic-Free Products, By the Numbers

Sources: Technomic 2016 Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report and 2017 COP: Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report