Burlington School Food Project
Student cooks and tasters lead the way

Author: Eve Pranis

Students in Burlington schools are an essential part of monthly taste-tests where new foods are prepared, sampled,and rated, and then produced in large quantities if proven popular.

It was garbage that fueled middle school teacher Dan Treinis’ passion for food education. “As a new teacher on lunch duty, I watched in amazement at the sheer amount of trash that was produced,” says Dan. Enter healthful-food-focused parent and artist, Bonnie Acker. The pair pondered how to transform school food as it moved both in to and out of the cafeteria. From there, the soup thickened.

Revealing Lunchroom Data
“Separating cafeteria food for compost seemed like a good starting point,” says Bonnie. “After all, we figured it could take 25 years to improve school food.” But the early compost calculations, it turns out, gave them what they needed to bring edibles to the forefront. The first step was a survey to find out just how much lunch food 700 students in grades K-8 were throwing away. Sure, the total quantity was impressive, but most interesting, says Bonnie, was tracking what students were opting to eat or leave behind. A group of volunteer parents, teachers, and students kept watch for a week, noting what was left on food trays each day: 54% of the mashed potatoes got tossed on Monday, 50% of the salad on Tuesday, half the vanilla pudding another day, and so on. (No surprise: only 4% of the pizza was left behind!) “We told curious students that we cared about their preferences and wanted them to be key players in making decisions about new items,” explains Bonnie.

“When I learned about and talked up a new project called Vermont FEED (Food Education Every Day), the principal was able to see its connection to our successful compost program,” says Dan. Together with Bonnie and two colleagues from Edmunds Middle School in Burlington, Dan found inspiration in the program’s summer professional development institute. Learn more about VT FEED.

“Because we had hard data on consumption, people saw us more credibly,” says Bonnie. She adds that involving parents in the process broadened the base of support for making changes in the school food arena.

(Note: The compost program that launched this research today diverts up to 80 percent of cafeteria waste from the landfill, and has spread throughout the district!)

Taste Tastes: Thumbs Up for New Menu Items
Armed with data, an overview of cafeteria consumption, and thoughts on how to slowly integrate some menu changes, the ad hoc food group started meeting with Doug Davis, the district food service director. His bottom line: The only way to change lunchroom food is to ensure that kids will eat it; the way to do that is to involve them so they have a stake in the project. And so they do. As often as possible, students’ palates are primed for an official cafeteria taste test.

When students are involved in inventing new foods, there is a much higher acceptance rate when new meals debut in the cafeteria!

Starting with Culinary Inventions
Before new items make it to the lunchroom taste-test table, students, chefs, and other community volunteers join food service and Vermont FEED staff to invent recipes using wholesome (and often local) ingredients; classes then test different versions. “When students have a hand in deciding which types and amounts of ingredients should go into something, they have fun and become intellectually and emotionally involved,” says Bonnie. When the school decided to test yogurt fruit parfaits, one class experimented with recipes for the granola topping. Bonnie and the nutrition educator from a local food market gave the group 12 recipe options and invited them to experiment with different types of sweeteners (e.g., maple syrup, honey, brown sugar). When a couple of boys asked to strike out on their own, the adults honored their request. Word has it, it may have been the extra dose of maple syrup that got their concoction top ranking. The class-endorsed granola now shows up at several schools on the school sandwich/salad bar, in parfaits, and for breakfast.

“One of our big recipe successes has been minestrone,” says Bonnie. The secret ingredient? Pesto, which was initially created by first graders from armloads of basil they’d picked at a community farm. Then there were the 59 trials of whole grain cookies – many of which were baked or tested by students – that yielded a popular oatmeal chocolate chip version – dubbed “localicious” by one girl. As fantastic as they were, thanks to whole grains and maple syrup, they haven't yet passed muster with the food service because of the ingredient costs and preparation time. But neither the students nor the food service has ruled them out entirely. “We'd love to use as many Vermont ingredients as possible, but that will be on hold for a while so we can stay competitive with the low-cost version of the cookie now being served,” says Bonnie.

Did you know? A Cornell University study found that after elementary school students were educated about healthier cafeteria options, they were significantly more likely to sample the new items.

The Lunchroom Test
Once a kid-friendly, healthful recipe bears fruit in one or more classrooms, it is put in front of a larger audience. Each month, a group of students (many of whom build skills through a special “success” class) help prepare taste-test items. Then they serve up the fresh fare at a separate table in the lunchroom. These student “researchers” go table to table – clipboards in hand – and ask the diners three basic questions: Did you try it? Did you like it? Would you try it again? Finally, they tabulate results. With thumbs up from the diners, foods like the vegetable pizza with partially whole-grain crust, yogurt parfaits with granola, and minestrone have made their way onto the monthly menu.

“The cafeteria is becoming more of a classroom,” says Dan. In addition to new student-approved menu items, it sports a sandwich bar with options that include meat, cheese, hummus with pesto, cut vegetables, baby greens, and other products from local sources. Sometimes farmers come in to participate in a taste-test by handing out samples of their fresh vegetables. And hanging from the walls are stunning student-painted, larger-than-life panels showing Vermont crops, from strawberries to squash. Bonnie contends that any school working on changing food attitudes and behaviors should have artwork in the cafeteria. “I think subliminal advertising does work,” she admits.

How they Grow
Participating teachers concur that when students are asked for honest feedback and see their preferences incorporated into lunchroom offerings, they become enthusiastic advocates and participants – and cafeteria sales sometimes go up, to boot! “Kids don’t get listened to often enough, or asked for input on solutions to problems," says Bonnie. “But they are excited about being key people in changing a key part of their lives.” She adds that they also have a chance to see the relationship between what they do and larger changes in society. “I let them know that their story is being told – and inspiring people – nationally.”

Advice: It Takes a Team
“You don’t have to have a degree in anything to begin to build a project like this,” says Dan. “There are lots of places to start, and any one will get you moving." In fact Bonnie suggests that a classroom teacher wanting to explore food education start with just one activity for the year (for example, a parent open house featuring some foods kids have helped prepare). But to launch a comprehensive program, Dan suggests building a team of people who have food in common. “Then appeal to their common sense. After all, kids succeed better if they eat well. It’s a logical link that’s hard to argue with.”

“I’m just an ordinary person who encourages parents and other community people who don’t consider themselves nutritionists or economists to work together. By doing this, you can come to wildly successful solutions.” Bonnie Acker, parent volunteer

With that in mind, Dan and other “charter” participants formed a schoolwide food committee which includes the food service director; food service and Vermont FEED staff; teachers; parents; and local chefs and farmers. At lively monthly meetings, the group chooses foods to test in the classrooms and the cafeteria, keeping in mind students' flavor preferences, food service staff time, and food costs. The team also invites to its meetings other people whose input or partnerships can help the taste-test initiative thrive. These include food service workers, Americorps volunteers, university students, chefs, and so on. Bonnie underscores the importance of engaging volunteers, particularly in the early stages. “You can’t just saddle the food service by asking them to prepare foods for taste tests,” she explains. (Funds raised by the council and community partners go into a “food fund” at a local food market, which discounts items for the recipe trials.)

Nourishing Liaisons: Working with the Food Service
Food education leaders across the country echo the same refrain: involve the food service directors and staff, and work toward incremental – not dramatic – changes. “The biggest thing I’ve learned by working with the people in the food service is just how much they are hampered by the government,” says Dan. “For instance, they can’t just buy or serve whatever they want at any time, and they need to incorporate a lot of government commodity foods. (These are farm surplus foods provided free or at low cost by the government). What’s more, he adds, the food service is understaffed, and workers, underpaid.

Resources for a Citywide Effort According to Burlington School District Food Director Doug Davis “thousands of pounds of Vermont grown fruits and vegetables are coming into to school cafeterias. VT FEED is just one of the groups working to improve city school lunches, boost nutrition education, and build a sustainable local food system. Learn what a successful coordinated citywide effort “looks” like: Burlington Community Food Assessment The Burlington School Food Project

“The people who make the meals day in and day out are at the heart of school-food change,” says Bonnie. From the beginning, the fruitful relationship between food-service staff and other food advocates has nurtured a wide variety of creative ideas and productive results. “What’s kept us working together with open minds is our commitment to the kids,” Bonnie reflects. “We respect one another, we groan at the obstacles, we laugh, and we come up with solutions.” Groups such as Vermont FEED share resources on topics such as sourcing local foods and offer professional development opportunities for school kitchen staff.

Menu Tweaks
Of course, that doesn’t mean throwing out the old favorites like chicken patties or pizza. Sometimes it means adding in new side dishes or shifting some of the ingredients. For instance, students made and sampled whole grain pizza crusts, which “tested” well. So the food service director asked a local owner of a national pizza chain to create one for the schools. No such luck. But a food company in the Midwest stepped up to the plate to deliver the crusts. From there, it was a short leap to pizza crust made partly with whole-grain flour, but students still prefer pepperoni over veggies. The challenge of how to boost the popularity of pepper and broccoli pizza remains.

When the cafeteria waste study revealed that half the salads pre-packed in plastic containers were thrown away, the food service challenge was to make healthful greens and vegetables more palatable. A lunchroom sandwich bar now offers students a choice of wholesome local toppings and side dishes. It turns out that because the produce is fresh and flavorful, much less is wasted, so the economics look pretty good, too.

Fitting in Government Fare
Schools get such a deal on commodity foods, they can hardly meet budgets without them. Unfortunately, say some nutritionists, they’re not always the best foods for kids. But Bonnie describes a case where combining commodities with whole and fresh ingredients makes a big difference. “When Doug asked me and a food coop staffer to experiment with cranberry sauce, I thought ‘It’s so high in sugar!’” But topped with oats and sunflower seeds it makes a flavorful cranberry snack bar (currently being tested). And yes, pinto beans even replace some of the fat! The food service director and Vermont FEED are also working with state-level commodity program officials to make more local items, such as carrots and winter squash, available to all schools. “After eight years, we’ve just managed to get local apples onto the commodity list,” exclaims Doug. “Getting Vermont apples into Vermont schools is a great victory. There are many other farm products which could be distributed, benefiting both farmers and kids.” Through direct farm-to-school agreements, Burlington schools are receiving more and more in-season crops. For instance, autumn lettuce, baby greens, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are making their way into sandwiches and salads, and summer-grown zucchini, basil, and kale are being processed and frozen for year-round use.

Time for Kids (October 7, 2005) featured students in Burlington, Vermont making autumn pesto for their school. The 25 gallons they produced was so popular that this year's goal is to make a much larger quantity!

Reaping Results
“The relationship between our original teacher-parent advocacy group and the food service has shifted from one of cautious skepticism to a very good one,” says Dan. “I think it’s because we all understand where one another comes from and the limits we all face.” Says Family and Consumer Science teacher Ginger Farineau, “Early on, Bonnie and others constantly reinforced what the food service director was doing well, and discussed what could be improved. Before long, they were partners. It was the beginning of a real paradigm shift.”

More Classroom Highlights from Edmunds Middle School

Cooking Class Gets a Makeover
Healthful Snacks Are Elementary
Young Entrepreneurs Grow Nutritious Business

 

VT FEED Grows Healthy Kids, Economy Vermont’s Food Education Every Day (FEED) project is an impressive effort designed to improve food, farm, and nutrition education, and support local growers (and, in turn, the local economy). Rather than simply introduce more healthful foods in the cafeteria, VT FEED’s strategy focuses on what it calls the “3 Cs”: classroom, cafeteria, and community. This includes helping teachers develop standards-based lessons related to food, nutrition, school gardens, and local agriculture – and to the connections among these factors. School- and community-based leadership teams attend professional development courses and collaborate with project mentors on curriculum development and assessment. Project staff work with school kitchen managers to integrate fresh, local foods into lunch programs. Farmers sell food to schools, host student groups, and visit classrooms. Students engage in cooking, tasting, and eating healthful local foods in the cafeteria and beyond. And parents and the broader community feast on student food fare, concoct new recipes with children at home, and get involved in bringing this ambitious vision to life. For more information and links to excellent planning, cooking, and teaching resources, go to VT FEED’s Web site.