More Richfield students eating school food – Richfield Public Schools, MN

Local school lunches entirely California grown – San Diego Unified School District, CA

Students taste-test foods for school menu potential – Toledo Public Schools, OH

Hot dogs or bust? Anchorage School District tries to build meals that kids will buy — and eat – Anchorage School District, AK

District: More students buying meals at school – South-Western City School District, OH

Maine Schools Stepping Up Efforts to Get Kids to Eat Healthy Foods – Lewiston Public Schools, ME

18 St. Paul schools offer 3 free meals a day to students – St. Paul Public Schools, MN

Metro Students Fight Hunger By Packing Food – Notre Dame Academy, MN

Richfield High School opens health resource center for children and youth in community – Richfield Public Schools

Jay Turner
Food Service Director
Elwood Community Schools, IN

Jay has worked at Elwood for 16 years and served 3 terms on the ISNA board. He is now a member of the ISNA Bylaws Committee. He is always looking to improve the financial positions of school food service operations when attending the national SNA shows, SNIC, LAC and ANC.

Elwood has been a customer of PCS for 15 years and they love the back of the house applications due to the ease of retrieving needed data and reports for both the state and Administrative Office. They are also using touch screens and are very pleased with the ease of menu updating and student service. With the addition of Mobility this year, the data between the Food Service office and the building level is much more efficient. Right now, PayPAMS is being implemented to improve services for the district’s parents and students.

Jay is proud of the the 16% increase in participation at their Jr/Sr High School after redesigning the cafeteria to include three separate dining options, including the International Café, Pizza and More and Panther Favorites. The international line has been a huge success with students trying new and exciting menu offerings on a daily basis.

“PCS is always there with quick and helpful service. They work closely with our IT Department to work through the challenges within our network. I continue to recommend PCS to other districts throughout Indiana. I especially appreciate the year end reporting and the detailed information that I can retrieve. I continue to learn about the reports that are available with the help and encouragement of my representative. Elwood Community School Corporation is very pleased to be a long time customer of PCS and look forward to a continued relationship as we continue to grow and expand our operations.”

Manteca High School Students Can Earn Money Working On District’s Farm
Manteca Unified School District, CA

School farm: Growing success – Everything from biochar project to honey production
Manteca Unified School District, CA

LCS considers pushing back high school start times
Leon County Schools, FL

Beaufort County School District – “‘Grab-and-go’ lunches prove to be a hit with students at Hilton Head Island High”

A pilot lunch program now allows high school students to get their meals at one of five locations, each with its own menu. They also have a choice of where to eat. Many students take their lunches to classrooms where they can get tutoring, make up missed assignments or just get started on homework. Principal, Amanda O’Nan says that “Lunchtime” is now referred to as “Independent Learning Time.”

Full Article Here

School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties – “Elementary School equivalent of Meals on Wheels”

Last summer a food truck started to deliver lunch to 90 children in two apartment complexes when schools were out of session. The truck was converted from a mail truck to a “mobile Kitchen” that keeps the food at the needed temperatures. Now that schools are back in session, the food truck provides an alternative serving area at the school.

Full Article Here

Cafeteria nutrition a balancing act at Redlands schools

(Redlands Unified School District, CA)

Massachusetts Farm to School Project aids healthy eating in Tewksbury schools

(Tewksbury Public Schools, MA)

Faribault High School ranks highly in national healthy food challenge

(Faribault Public Schools, MN)

Cincinnati Public Schools Implement Grab n’ Go

PCS’ FASTrak POS helps speed the line

“In addition to the Grab n’ Go station, we have two reimbursable meal vending machines, connected to FASTrak, in each of the vending areas of the cafeteria. And this year we added more meal options in another area of the building to reduce overcrowding in the cafeteria, an additional five reimbursable meal vending machines and a PCS Net Cash Machine available to offer students faster service. Due to the success we will be adding more in October.”
– Eric Zacarias, Manager of Food Services

PCS’ FASTrak Integration with Star Food Healthy Express Vending helps reduce congestion in the cafeteria

Click here for the full article

Carrie Frank, Director

Dover-Eyota Public Schools in Minnesota grows some of their own vegetables hydroponically, right next to the serving line in the cafeteria! Carrie Frank, Food and Nutrition Director, has taken the idea of promoting locally grown foods to a new level, quite literally. In May, she purchased a “vertical garden”, a tower type display of greens and plants and placed them close to the students in the cafeteria. This year the vertical garden featured salad greens and strawberries and will expand to herbs and additional assortments of other greens in the coming school year. Carrie’s staff services four of the vertical gardens over a 4-6 week growth cycle, utilizing hydroponics. The students enjoy the opportunity to see the plants growing on the towers.