School sees increased participation after reworking menu and dropping out of federal lunch program

Barrington High School in Barrington, Ill., has dropped out of the National School Lunch Program and reworked its menu offerings to encourage greater lunch participation, CBS Chicago reports.  

Students have an array of new options including a salad bar, stir-fry station, a deli bar, grab-and-go sandwiches and more.

The school’s new foodservice provider, Quest Food Management, says that between 80% to 85% of the menu items are scratch-made. While the school no longer gets reimbursed by the government, it says it has seen an increase in profits since making the switch and that the money earned goes straight back into the foodservice program to improve offerings. 

The school recently debuted a snack bar that is open before, during and after school, where students can grab snacks, coffee and smoothies. 

School officials considered dropping out of the National School Lunch Program when they noticed that a majority of students were having lunch delivered to school through third-party food delivery apps. 

Barrington High is the only school in its district to drop federally funded meals, but other schools across the country have also dropped out of the program.