Foodies living in South Washington County: You have a mouth-watering kitchen in your backyard. But most of you haven’t been there yet. With a menu touting lots of homemade specials, locally sourced produce collected from nearby farms and a staff with years working in the kitchen, this is one experience that won’t disappoint. You don’t even need a reservation. Just a student ID.
The places to find these culinary delights are the 22 elementary, middle and high school cafeterias across South Washington County, which serve 11,000 meals a day. Gone are the days of mystery meat and questionable slop on a plate, once deemed appropriate for school lunch. Now, thanks in part to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (which took effect nationwide in 2010) and trailblazers such as Wendy Tracy, director of nutrition services at South Washington County Schools, lunchtime is looking up.
“There have been some drastic changes these last few years,” Tracy says. “With new restrictions on calories, fat and sodium, putting together offerings that follow the new regulations and the kids will actually eat has become my own little Rubik’s Cube.”
Not to worry. By offering meals such as Kansas City pulled pork sandwiches, an authentic burrito bar and Cajun chicken with Puerto Rican red beans and rice made from scratch, Tracy and her hard-working team seem to be mastering the puzzle without any problem. “We have worked extremely hard on our product selection as well as recipe design over the past three years,” Tracy says. “Student input is so important. They’re our paying customers. We have to circle back to hear their feedback.”
Which they do. On a regular basis, the nutrition services staff meets with student advisory councils to gauge feedback and taste test current offerings. “Kids will tell you exactly what they think,” Tracy says with a laugh.
Themes from these meetings have materialized into actual menu items those very students are eating every day. “Entree salads started due to a suggestion at the elementary youth advisory council meeting,” says Bobbie Jo Grummons, nutrition specialist at South Washington County Schools. “They are now a huge success at all grade levels. It’s so exciting to hear what students have to say; they’re our customers.”
Another recently-implemented movement making strides across the county is the National Farm to School Network. More than 40,000 schools are already involved in this initiative—including South Washington County’s 22 schools—which allows students to gain access to healthy foods from local sources.
Right now, the district is working with two farms, one in Afton and one in Hastings. One of those, Whistling Well Apple Orchard, not only provides apples for the district, but also opportunities for field trips and real-life learning on the farm. “Groups visit the farm, pick apples and then see how they’re processed and packaged,” says Charlie Johnson, who helps run Whistling Well Apple Orchard and, incidentally, also used to work as a librarian for the district. “This gives students an idea of what goes on inside a small farm.”
The district also works with the Hmong American Farmers Association, which provides 1,200 pounds of fresh baby red potatoes. “With these types of partnerships, kids can really understand where food comes from,” Grummons says. Tracy adds, “These farms are literally outside our back door. We’re providing locally sourced produce and they’re supporting their community.
“If parents came to lunch with their kids, they’d be shocked at the difference between what was served when they were in school and what’s being offered now,” Tracy says. “We take pride in our work. We love these kids.”
