Spartanburg schools goes to scratch cooking

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Spartanburg County School District 6's motto is "children should always come first," and this year, it's putting its money where its mouth is — literally.

When students line up for lunch on the first day of school Aug. 18, the school district's food-service workers will dish out fresh, home-cooked meals rather than the standard pre-cooked food, said district spokesperson Cynthia Robinson.

All of the district's cafeteria workers have participated in a two-week long culinary boot camp to learn the proper method of making fresh meals from scratch using local produce.

"We're very excited about the wonderful changes taking place in District 6," Robinson said. "We're providing healthier, great tasting, made from scratch meals that we know our children will love. Every decision we make is for our children, and we know our children will love the difference in the way the food is prepared."

Beginning Aug. 18, all elementary and middle school students can choose to eat a hot meal made from scratch or from the salad bar in the cafeteria. In addition to homemade meals, high school students will also have the option of Subway sandwiches or Papa John's pizza, all of which will meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for school meals, she said. The district will have the only high school in South Carolina with an official Subway franchise inside its college and career center.