Rising to the challenges of serving coffee in high school

The kids today love their coffee,” says Danielle Bock, SNS, nutrition services director at Greeley-Evans Weld County School District 6 in Colorado. When a grant from the Western Dairy Association came through, she knew it was time to get into the coffee game, which she did by opening two cafes on two high school campuses in the district.

The first one, Grizzlies’ Café, is at Northridge High School.

“There had been a made-to-order deli nook off of the cafeteria. We thought, ‘Let’s move the deli into the hallway and create a little café here,’” Bock says.

The café is very automated, with an espresso maker that simplifies a complicated process, “although we do have a steam wand because you have to have foam,” Bock says.

Baristas are currently school nutrition staff, but at the second high school café, G Dub’s Café at Greeley West High School, the nutrition department has partnered with various marketing and business classes at the high school to add an educational aspect to the coffee program. Students work in the coffee shop and earn funds for class trips and other school activities.

“We’ve been able to make these connection with student groups to operate, plan for, strategize and basically allow students to get involved in every aspect, from food safety to the business analytics side of it,” Bock says.

Staffing there can be a challenge, as with any student group, because many times “they have other priorities,” Bock says. “If they didn’t finish their homework, their shift may take a backseat that day.”

She strives to teach student workers the value of accountability, though. “The one they’re letting down is their peer,” Bock says.

The education piece is key, because generally, campus cafés aren’t big profit generators, Bock adds.

The cafes are open 35 to 40 minutes prior to the school day’s start and then during lunch service for another 40 minutes or so.

“We’re open a grand total of an hour and twenty minutes,” Bock says. “If we can get 30 to 40 espresso drinks, we’re lucky, and at $2 or $3 a pop, that’s not a profit-making venture.”

At one location, some grab-and-go salads and pizza have been added, along with snack items like housemade beef jerky and hot fries. Juices are selling well too at the cafés. Still, “if we make $150, that’s a banner day,” she adds.

However, “our real core capacity is to support student achievements. Our mission is to nourish students and create success. We can’t do that if they’re coming in late because they were standing in line at Starbucks,” she says.

Another reason K-12 cafés don’t do exceptionally well is the limitations on calories set by USDA nutritional regulations.

“There are big challenges,” Bock says. “We can’t compete with ourselves, so everything we serve has to meet regulations, and in Colorado, we had been aligning our policies with a stricter beverage policy than the national one. But now, we have a little more leeway.”

The biggest stumbling block from a flavor and customer satisfaction standpoint remains replicating the super-sweet syrups that flavor coffee at places like Starbucks. For school use, the carbs and calorie count is simply too high.

“You put a latte in their hands, and they’re like, ‘Oh, this isn’t sweet,’” Bock says. “You can get a triple-pump macchiato at Starbucks, but that drink is literally 900 calories. We’re trying to fight childhood obesity here.”

“So we tried sugar-free syrups, but they’re saccharine and have a really off-putting taste,” Bock says. “We had chefs in the central production kitchen create syrups with spice infusions and less sugar.”

The milk added is fat-free, “so you really are getting a drink that meets all the requirements of the National School Lunch Program,” Bock says.