meal_appeal

Delivering Customer Service
Be prepared to listen to your students’ recommendations and follow through
on their ideas. Then these students can be your cheerleaders—they can spread
the word that you listened and made changes, and their enthusiasm can influence
their friends to participate in the program.
Providing serving
options gives students
choices and
speeds up service,
giving them more
time to eat.
Clinton City Schools in North Carolina involve students in grades 3-12 in
monthly roundtables with the superintendent and school board. Over lunch,
students raise issues of school policy and operation, and the quality of school
meals is usually a discussion topic. School foodservice staff then take action to
address the concerns. Some examples include adding chicken fajitas and
steamed squash to the menu. The school system has seen a steady increase
in participation.
Pinellas County, Florida, has developed Student Involvement Day. The Café
Manager may work with a group of students, such as the student council or a
single classroom, each month to develop the menu for that month’s Student
Involvement Day. After reviewing the nutritional requirements for a healthy
meal, the manager or teacher works with a list of menu options to help the
students create “their menu.” The students learn about healthy eating and
then get to enjoy seeing their menu (“Mrs. Smith’s Class Menu,” for example)
on the day it is served. This is particularly effective with younger children.
Plan Menus with Students
Use the script and worksheet—adapted from
California SHAPE, Strategies for Success—on page 36
to develop a reimbursable menu using a food-based
menu planning system that students like and that meets the dietary guidelines
and nutrition standards. Helping them understand the importance of choosing
foods that help them feel good, grow strong, and do well in school will have
long-term positive benefits.
Enhance the Eating
Environment
Many factors affect a student’s
decision to participate in
school meal programs. Time,
location, accessibility, and
image all play a part—in addition
to menus, price, and food
presentation. You can help
create a positive eating environment
by making sure that:
• Food is available at convenient
and attractive locations. Salad bars and other serving options help create
interest and excitement about trying new foods.
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