Missouri school opts out of the National Lunch Program, creates own menu

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — In the cafeteria at Trinity Lutheran School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri they're serving up meals that don't meet National Lunch Program standards, but the school doesn't care.

It left the program and is handling its own menus.

Head Cook Elizabeth Buerck said that a team of parents, cooks and staff spent months crunching the numbers and figured they could afford to leave the government program.

“We said that if we can do all our shopping at Sam's, just to keep it simple at first, then we would do it,” she remarked.

Elizabeth and her staff created 30 different menus that cover the range from soup to grilled cheese sandwiches to Little Caesar's Pizza on Fridays.

It's working for them. Their lunch numbers have about doubled.

“We just saw so much food being thrown away, “ remembered Principal Missy Adams. “We knew we could do it better.”

The kids are offered choices now, which the school insists makes a difference.

“If a child gets to choose what fruit he or she is eating, they feel like they're in control and will eat it. Our students are eating more fruit because they get what they like,” said Elizabeth.

Dessert is even back on the menu at Trinity.

Same thing at Notre Dame Regional High School. They ditched the federal program too.

Cooks grew weary of preparing food, only to watch the students pitch it minutes later.

Notre Dame dropped out of the program, created its own menus and got area restaurants involved.

On Tuesdays, Papa John's Pizza or Chick-Fil-A is served. Thursdays alternate between McAllister's, Tractor's, My Daddy's Cheesecake and Popeye's.

The kids love the choices.

The lunch bill can be a bit higher, but Notre Dame points out that kids do not have to eat the restaurant food. There is always the regular school lunch, plus a salad bar, and an a la carte menu that includes, among other things, yogurt, juices, and fruits.