Nutrition Committee

LPS Food Service Program Update

LPS is piloting a transition toward more scratch-prepared meals and an increase in the use of local agricultural products.  This approach is often referred to as farm-to-school.   We are seeking feedback and participation from the entire school community, so we hope you’ll take a moment to read this short update and fill out the survey posted at the end.  Your involvement is key to our success!

Current Scratch and Farm-to-School Items:

Current scratch-prepared menu items offered by LPS include hummus, fabulous soups (try the delicious chicken noodle soup!), chicken stew, enchiladas, and tuna salad.  Leland’s Food Service also purchases local lettuce, apples, and apple sauce when available and affordable.

Adding Good Things:

LPS’s Food Service Program has been piloting farm-to-school breakfasts and healthy yogurt parfaits- both an immediate hit with many students.   It is our intention to broadly scale-up these breakfasts, which will often feature local farm fresh eggs.

LPS also plans to transition to at least one farm-to-school lunch per week starting in September of 2011.  We hope to increase farm-to-school offerings as is affordable.  The Food Service Program has already begun menu development and allowed students to sample lunch items under consideration for next year’s menu.  This sampling program will continue until the end of the school year.

Making Healthier Choices:

In an effort to improve the current offerings in the cafeteria, there have been several changes offer students a more nutritious array of choices. Some of these changes include the elimination of artificially flavored milk, yogurt products containing high fructose corn syrup, and narrowing breakfast cereal selection down to those with lower sugar content. In addition, LPS has changed their milk provider to Country Fresh, a company committed to working with farmers who don’t use controversial artificial growth hormones on their cows.  LPS’s Food Service Program is consciously working to add delicious, healthy options as less healthy choices are phased out.

Here’s how you can help:

Parents and Students:

• Your feedback is very important to us! Please go to the following link and fill out our survey! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T9CXMNG
• Support our Farm-to-School transition.  Increased hot meal participation is the key to our success!

Farmers and Agricultural Producers:

• Let us know if you are interested in selling your products to the school!  We’ll be going through a formal bid process but would like support school families that farm, as is cost-efficient.

Contact Dorothy Sirrine via email: dorothy.sirrine@gmail.com or phone: 231-946-4199.