Essentials Magazine Essentials Fall 2016: EDspaces Edition | Page 12

The Future of School Food
it may take to serve fresh foods from
scratch. We have demonstrated that a
scratch-cooking foodservice program
can be achieved with the funding that is
already in place.
Once the menu has been built and we
know what we want to cook, serve, store
and hold for different day parts, then the
kitchen may be assessed to determine if
any remodeling will be needed. Most people go to remodeling first because it looks
like something is happening. But if you
don’t assess and design based on menu,
these decisions will result in wasting money or overspending. A peak into existing
school districts will reveal that most kitchens are underutilized based upon how the
district currently feeds students. Resources are literally being wasted.

START COOKING!
Once the ingredients are sourced
and the menu is planned then we start
cooking! Here is where the edge of the
knife comes in. It must be sharp and fast

(or get fast). Fresh ingredients heading
towards local and organic are key to
success. Direction and leadership for the
kitchen team will result in confidence
that they can ‘scratch-cook’ in real-time
so the food is served at the height of
flavor, it looks great and kids eat it! The
act(s) of growing, harvesting, cooking
and eating are at the center of all we are.
The act of cooking homemade meals
stirs memories, makes memories and
creates a social well being (of sorts) that
instills so many healthy things in our lives.
12 essentials | summer 2016

The bottom line is that we need to see
happy people wielding knives and cutting
boards in the kitchen. There is a special
kind of joy a child feels when they see
someone cares enough to take the time
and effort to cook a good meal or bake
a fresh treat. The other by-product is
happy, proud employees.

MEASURE WASTE
Waste measurement is key to identifying success or failure in the front and
back of the house.
The information must be processed
(used) regularly to be of value. In one
study (Punahou School on Oahu in
2008). Student waste was measured
for several days. One day the waste
was pushing 40%. Since it was the last
day we let students know why we were
weighing the waste. Several felt the
need to explain the reason for their
waste that particular day. It led to some
very interesting conversation about why
food was wasted. In this case, tofu was
the main entrée (commodity) and it
was slathered in teriyaki sauce. The kids
simply ate around it.
The old adage ‘the way to a man’s
heart is though his stomach’ is still true
today except that it should be modified to say ‘the way to a healthy heart
is through healthy food and lifestyle.
Studies have shown that having a chef or
culinary presence in the school cafeteria
to interact with students through taste
tests and demonstrations is beneficial. A
2012 study conducted in Boston Public Schools found that middle school
students eating in school cafeterias with
chefs/culinary leadership were more
likely to eat whole grains, and consumed
more servings of vegetables per day than
students in cafeterias without chefs.
In the end it’s all about serving great
food in a sustainable system. Responsibility is not on the food service workers
alone, but rather it is a shared responsibility with the school and families as well.
Growing happy, healthy children should
be integrated into every aspect of the
school and at home. Involving stakeholders creates ownership and food can be
the common thread. Schools across the

EDspaces 2016 Speaker:
GREG AND FELLOW PARTNERS
will be presenting Envisioning
the Future of School Food on
Wednesday, November 2 and
Thursday, November 3 at 3:00 PM.

country are struggling to keep enrollment
up due to charter schools and open enrollment. Parents and students have more
choices that ever. All things being equal
food quality can play an important role in
the decision-making process.
Devising a new strategy for great
school food takes commitment, but it
is worth the hard work to have healthy
students who are engaged and better
prepared to learn. It is possible to aim for
a higher standard for the students we are
feeding and honor the earth for giving us
sustenance, and each other by remembering that we did not get to the fast paced,
processed food world overnight. By combining our commitment, respect, determination, and hard work, our children will
learn about healthy food choices. n

CHEF GREG CHRISTIAN is a sustainable
foodservice consultant, chef, author, and
entrepreneur. His company, Beyond Green
Sustainable Food Partners, provides measured strategies and solutions for organizations interested in making the switch to
more sustainable foodservice platforms.
The company is also a local foodservice
provider for the greater Chicago community. Learn more at www.beyondgreenpartners.com/.