The Port Washington school district is offering every student free lunches during the second week of school to show off some new menu items.
During the week of Sept. 11 to 15, the district “encourages children to try the new, healthy options and changes to the school menu,” the district said in a news release.
Students will receive up to five free meals for the week, which consist of at least three of the following: a meat or meat alternative, a whole grain, a fruit, a vegetable and milk.
One of the choices must be a fruit or vegetable.
“The beginning of each school year is our opportunity to engage students in the process of buying lunch at school,” Jessica Mack, the assistant business administrator, said. “The more successful the program is, the more improvements and options we can then provide in the future. Because the program was profitable last year, this is a win-win, which provides both exposure for the program and free meals for the students, which in turn saves parents money and time.”
Mack said the changes were meant to expand the options so that “the usual chicken nuggets, burgers and potato options” are offered less frequently.
Greek yogurt will be added to the menu, and only olive oil and canola oil will be used for cooking and salad dressings. All meatballs will be antibiotic- and hormone-free, and a Farm Fresh Friday menu will be offered at least once a month at every school.
Students at Schreiber High School will now have panini-pressed sandwiches in the cafeteria, and all district elementary schools will get new snack options, including fresh popcorn, berry cups and homemade berry smoothies.
Gummy snacks will be cut from the menu along with any ingredients including artificial color, artificial sweeteners, partially hydrogenated oils, bleached flour or olestra.
A link will also be added to the district’s website to give parents access to nutritional and allergen information for all menus.
Mack said many of the changes are a result of the parents who worked with the district’s food service consultant to build a healthier menu.
“The district wellness committee, food service provider and administration have worked diligently to provide our students with healthier menu options and more information to make wise decisions,” Superintendent Kathleen Mooney said.
“We encourage families to take advantage of the free lunches so that their children can sample some of the new or existing healthier meals, and hopefully find something that they can enjoy that is also better for them.”
