State of K-12 foodservice: Moving the menu forward

Even with lingering procurement challenges—nearly half (49%) of respondents to FoodService Director’s 2023 State of K-12 survey say they’re having difficulty sourcing products—many operators are excited to incorporate new dishes for the next school year. 

This fall, Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto, Calif., is continuing to phase out pre-packaged items for breakfast, and will lean more heavily on dishes that are prepared fresh. 

The team spent the last school year testing new menu ideas, some of which will be added to the permanent menu. One new breakfast option students will get to enjoy is a spin on eggs and toast. 

“We got creative, and one of the managers put a slice of ham in a muffin pan and then we put some eggs in the middle, and then we serve it with toast,” says General Manager June Richardson. “That seemed very popular with the kids, so we're going to offer that next year.”

Another breakfast dish being introduced this fall is a sweet potato that kids can customize with their own toppings. Richardson is still sorting out exactly how the dish will be served, and will test different iterations to see what students like best. 

“[A baked potato] might be what the students love, versus we might find out that maybe we need to do more of a mash and put it in a parfait cup,” she says. “We'll try different variations of that.”

Plant-based patties  

Students at Ravenswood City will also be sampling some new lunch items. Richardson and her team will be building upon their themed-meal days to include plant-based Fridays. One of the new plant-based items they’re most excited to try out is a plant-based burger patty made in-house. 

“[Last year] we had the Impossible burgers, but we decided [this] year, we're making our own burgers, so we've been testing recipes with the students,” says Richardson. 

Before the school year ended, the team had students sample broccoli patties, potato patties and chickpea patties. They’ll continue testing different types in the coming months until they find one that strikes a chord with students. 

“The potato one was the most popular one, but we're going to try some mushrooms and we're going to try a tofu,” says Richardson. 

What else is on the menu?

Check out some other items debuting this fall at schools throughout the country. 

"[We’re introducing] items to complement outdoor serving kiosks, such as bento boxes, salads with proteins and a variety of sandwiches with more modern ingredients.”

Kristi R McKnight
Director of Nutrition Services
Panama-Buena Vista USD
Bakersfield, Calif. 

“[We’re adding a] Korean Beef Bowl, Mac and Cheese with Pulled Pork, a Taco Salad Bowl, a Chicken Caesar Wrap, Jumbo Ravioli, and a Jalapeno and Pepperjack Hamburger.”

Becky Mason
Food Service Director
Hesston School District
Hesston, Kan.

“Scratch cooking. We will be looking to [add a] pita wrap with chicken tenders, bacon, lettuce tomato and ranch.” 

Nichole DeGraaf
Child Nutrition Manager
Auburn Union School District
Auburn, Calif.

“More local foods including beef, and we are hoping for local grain items.”

Jean Jordan-Ecker
Director of Child Nutrition
Three Village Central School District
Stony Brook, N.Y. 

Read more of our 2023 State of K-12 Foodservice report.