Photo by Sean Mayer

Food Service staff pose with a freshly-prepared cheese pizza. The department recently gained recognition for its sourcing of fresh, local ingredients and nutritious offerings.

Jacqueline Wong ‘27

REPORTER

In November 2024, the District Food Service Department earned the Healthy Meals Incentive (HMI) Recognition Award. The recognition praises their “Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals,” which encompasses ways to better recipes and how to plan and produce breakfasts and lunches. These awards were created by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to celebrate School Food Authorities (SFAs) who have strived to better their meals for their students.

“[The award focuses on] the amount of scratch cooking that [they] do and the farm to school programs,” said Devon Sundberg, the school’s Food Service Supervisor. The Food Department prioritizes preparing fresh meals rather than frozen food, and ingredients are often sourced from local farms in the community. Food is prepared differently for each school in the district. Between the middle school and the elementary schools, certain guidelines are set by the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Since the meal budget for those schools is given by the government, the SFA is required to meet the exact nutrient standards given, such as the amounts of calories, sodium, fat, etc. Although the high school similarly follows these rules, it is not a part of the NSLP. Since this means that they are not recipients of related government funding, the SFA is now allowed to offer the various snacks given to students.

Sundberg notes that though the Food Department does try to be nutritional, student satisfaction is also important. The Food Department values student feedback and participation. For example, Asian chicken is served frequently because it is the most purchased meal. Sundberg describes this process as a “trial and error.” Another way the Food Department chooses what food to prepare is by sending the students a survey at the end of each school year. In addition, the Food Department incorporates different cultural dishes in their menus based on student requests.

Sundberg explains that eating well is vital to academic success. “The biggest thing is that students are here to learn, and especially at our high school, [students] have a lot of extracurriculars going on…and I know personally, as a dietician, that if you’re eating crummy food, you’re not performing optimally,” said Sundberg. “So, if [students] in a classroom, or if [they’re] in clubs or sports, [they] don’t feel good if [they’re] not eating well, and we try to keep that in mind. We want to fuel [the students] so that [they] have the best day [possible].”