State mandate will change school lunches

January 26, 2006

PAT LITOWITZ
plitowitz@ncnewsonline.com

Here is your choice for lunch: a gyro or a bowl of asparagus.

If you're the typical New Castle student, asparagus doesn't stand a chance.

However, proper nutrition isn't a matter of popularity.

The New Castle Area School District receives accolades from students and teachers for its a la carte selections at the new junior-senior high school. However, a state mandate may deaden their taste buds.

"More people started buying lunch once we got the new system put in," junior Jesse Moses said. "The quality's just as good. The prices are better."

Unveiled two years ago, the high school's cafeteria features separate dining areas with seven- and eighth-graders in one section and freshmen through seniors in another. The food court operates in the center.

"I like it way better than the other cafeteria (at the former Ben Franklin Junior High)," eighth-grader Spenser Rapone said. "(The food is) way better tasting now.

"I don't think I packed at all this year."

Introduced last month, gyros are the school's most popular item with approximately 250 sold daily, according to Rick Sankey, district food service director. More than 30 hot foods are available daily. They include pizza, hamburgers, cheeseburgers and fries.

"The a la carte items are a lot more popular than a school lunch," said Sankey, who oversees a staff of 19. "They like the option of being able to buy it all. Purchase whatever they want; how much they want."

School board member Philip Conti fears that students are sacrificing good health with each sip of pop and bite of fried food. He touts the district's $1 Class A lunch, which features a nutritionally balanced meal with milk.

"Part of the function of our school is to get our kids to eat healthy," Conti said during a school board meeting last week. "We want to encourage kids to eat nutritious foods."

However, students are notorious for being picky eaters.

"They may buy (Class A lunches). but that doesn't mean the kids are eating what's there," board member Karen Humphrey countered. "Tuna tetrazzini doesn't do it."

The numbers show that a la carte items are more popular than the traditional school lunch. A la carte sales are expected to generate $352,565 compared to $109,000 for the Class A lunch. Next year, sales of individual items are expected to reach $455,000 with the school lunch sales dropping to $85,000.

Approximately half of the district's 3,800 students are eligible for free lunches. Another 189 can receive a Class A lunch at a reduced price.

In an effort to promote better health and proper eating, the state is requiring its 501 school districts to have wellness plans prepared by July.

Officials noted the district is offering more whole-grain items and 100-percent juice items to correspond with the state's new wellness policies.

Copyright (c) 2006, New Castle News