SCHOOL NUTRITION NEWS: What the Ending of the COVID Waivers Will Mean for School Lunch Next Year
Schools across the country aren’t even done with this school year yet, but they are already preparing for the next one. Changes are coming specifically to the school lunch program. Earlier this year, Congress failed to pass an extension of the COVID waivers for the next school year, which could mean many different things for your and your child. “As we transition to regular price meals during the school year, I would imagine our numbers will significantly...
Minnesota Ends School Lunch Shaming Over Student Debt
Minnesota lawmakers approved changes to school meal programs that stops what many advocates call "lunch shaming." And there's hope more steps will be taken to make free school lunches permanent. Colleen Moriarty said she’s been working for the last decade to make sure public school students are no longer embarrassed because they can’t afford their lunch bill. "Ten years ago we heard about snapping rubber bands on kids’ wrists, collection agencies going after families…lunches being dumped in...
SCHOOL NUTRITION NEWS: School Food Team Juggles School Lunch and Visit From President Joe Biden
For Teacher Appreciation week, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden made their way to Yorktown (Va.) Elementary School and visited with some fifth graders. The school visit was part of the White House’s Getting America Back on Track: American Family Plan Tour, a push for returning to in-person learning for all kids. Prior to the visit, Yorktown’s Sodexo foodservice team didn’t have a lot of advanced notice but were tasked with setting up a...
School Nutrition News: National School Lunch Week Celebrates Meals Served to Students
National School Lunch week shines the spotlight on the programs and nutritious food that’s served up every day all year long at schools across the country. “We have the opportunity in the state of Alabama to reach approximately three quarters of a million children on a daily basis for meals,” said June Barrett, Alabama Child Nutrition Program Coordinator for the state Department of Education. Nationally, the School Lunch Program serves nearly 30 million students every school...
School Nutrition News: Students Compost to Curb School Food Waste
North Andover Sustainability Committee member and mom Joanna O’Connell set out on a mission to cut down on food waste in North Andover schools, and with the help of eco-conscious students and lunchroom and custodial staff, that mission is being accomplished. “We were already recycling really well as a school district,” O’Connell said as she sipped coffee at Good Day Café on High Street waiting for school lunch periods to begin so she could check out...
U.S. Prek-12 Schools Explore Adopting Facial Recognition Software
The facial recognition market is a fast-growing industry expected to generate a value of almost $9B annually by 2022. Part of that market includes the education sector. Currently, governments are the biggest consumers of this technology because of its ability to deter crime. The “eye in the sky” watching over everyone is able to detect facial features, allow expedient access or deny it, and identify persons of interest. Large cities like Chicago and Detroit have already opted...
SCHOOL NUTRITION NEWS: 9-Year-Old Uses Allowance to Pay off Lunch Debt for His Entire Class
A 9-year-old boy is reaching into his piggy bank to help his classmates in Napa, California. Ryan Kirkpatrick used his allowance to pay off the lunch debt for his entire third-grade class. KGO reported that Ryan became inspired to take action after talking to his mom, Kylie Kirkpatrick, about kids who couldn't afford school lunches. Ryan then asked his mom to find out how much was owed by his fellow third-grade classmates at West Park Elementary School. That...
SCHOOL NUTRITION NEWS: Indiana School District Turns Unused School Lunch Food Into Take-Home Meals for Kids
An Indiana school district is taking steps to make sure kids have enough to eat. Elkhart Community Schools students usually get breakfast and lunch at school lunch food, but on the weekends at home, they may be without food. That's where the South Bend-based non-profit Cultivate Culinary comes in: it provides weekend meals to a small group of students in the elementary school pilot program. “Mostly, we rescue food that’s been made but never served by catering companies,...
SCHOOL NUTRITION NEWS: 100 Years Of School Lunches Taste Test
The social media sensations, Rhett and Link of Good Mythical Morning, ask the question. Were schools serving up lettuce sandwiches in the 1940's or 1920's? watch as they try to slide their way through school lunch history while sampling 100 years of school lunches. ...