Wilmot opts out of federal school lunch program

Waterford High School Principal Dan Foster sautées a healthy variety of stir-ins at the Risotto Bar while helping out in the high school’s cafeteria last month during National School Lunch Week. Waterford and Wilmot are among the schools that have opted out the federal school lunch program in response to recent changes.
Waterford High School Principal Dan Foster sautées a healthy variety of stir-ins at the Risotto Bar while helping out in the high school’s cafeteria last month during National School Lunch Week. Waterford and Wilmot are among the schools that have opted out the federal school lunch program in response to recent changes.

Students didn’t like the taste of mandated food choices

By Anne Trautner and Patricia Bogumil

Staff Writers

The “one size fits all approach” to the new federal school lunch guidelines hasn’t fit everyone.

Some school districts, such as Wilmot Union High School, have opted out of the federal school lunch program.

“We took action last April or May, and started the new lunch program this year,” said Dan Kopp, superintendent of Wilmot Union High School District.

The district chose to opt out of the federal school lunch program mainly because of the appeal factor for the students, Kopp said.

“The taste wasn’t the greatest, and it didn’t look that appealing, and the kids didn’t like it,” Kopp said. “We can offer comparable selections that are healthy and reasonably priced that aren’t in the federal school lunch program.”

Wilmot purchases school lunches from Taher, Inc., a private food service based in Minnesota.

“They have been around for years,” Kopp said. “They have a nutritionist that works for their company who develops the meals.”

There has been less food waste since the school district starting outsourcing the school lunches this year, Kopp said.

Ordering the lunches through Taher does not cost the district more money, Kopp said. Wilmot students pay $2.50 for the lunches.

Numbers have not been run to identify whether there are more students purchasing the school lunches, Kopp said.

“Unsolicited feedback from the kids is that they are generally happier about lunch this year than they were last year,” Kopp said.

Wilmot wasn’t the only school to opt out. Being required to offer the same size food portions and choices to a 200-pound football player and a 100-pound gymnast makes no sense, Waterford Union High School officials decided last year.

Leaders with the Waterford Graded School District came to a similar conclusion.

This school year, both districts have opted out of the federal lunch program, criticizing its “one size fits all” philosophy.

With that decision, the high school is now offering more of what its students want to buy for lunch and in the larger portions many prefer to buy, explained Keith Brandstetter, superintendent of the high school.

Opting out of the federal program meant losing about $40,000 in federal subsidies – a decision high school officials see as the right one.

In the past, “everybody had to take fruits and veggies,” Brandstetter explained – and much of that ended up in the trash cans. “Now we don’t require a student to take it; we still offer, however if they choose not to, they don’t have to.”

In order to offset the loss in federal funds, the high school must increase student participation and decrease food waste – which Brandstetter said is on target to happen.

For the most part, the high school’s lunch prices have stayed the same for this year, although better selections and increased portions are now available, Brandstetter said.

In Waterford Graded’s middle and elementary schools, a combination of declining student participation, growing need to subsidize the food service fund from the general budget (rather than breaking even) and too much food waste led to the opt-out, Superintendent Chris Joch said.

With meal price adjustments, joining the subsidized milk program, as well as other adjustments, Waterford Graded sees a projected loss of about $21,000 for this current fiscal year, Joch said.

“We need to see more students eating to offset the loss in revenue,” Joch said.

In Waterford Graded’s elementary schools, food waste is trending toward a drop to one container per building from the previous five, Joch said, since students aren’t forced to take undesired quantities from the fruit and vegetable bar.

“That is definitely saving money, but higher food prices cloud the real impact,” he added. Waterford Graded lunches cost just 10 cents more this school year.

In the past three to four years, there were times when the subsidized lunch program ran a deficit, Joch added, so the hope now is to reverse that trend with more appealing recipes and menu choices.

Currently, this year’s cost figures are a work in progress, both superintendents explain.

“I plan to report to the School Board in January,” said Brandstetter. “Based on preliminary numbers, things are going well.”

Schools that have stayed in the federal program are seeing some of the same cost challenges that districts like Waterford are working with – specifically, very high food prices, Joch added.

Families see this at the grocery store, and it is also affecting school food services, he added.

“Food costs are higher per meal than planned, but that’s also the case in schools still in the USDA program,” Joch added.

Both Brandstetter and Joch praise Taher, Inc., the food service vendor used by both Waterford districts, for its initiatives at working to improve the school lunch offerings and increase student participation goals this year.

“Things are trending upward, which is good, but they are still reaching for the target,” Joch said.


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