Eating healthfully in school cafeterias has never been so tasty!

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

School Food and Nutrition Services, Inc. – the archdiocesan agency that operates the breakfast and lunch programs at 60 Catholic elementary and high school cafeterias in the Archdiocese of New Orleans – works throughout the year to improve the taste and nutritional profiles of the meals served to hungry young diners.

Last summer, the agency learned it was one of eight school-food providers in Louisiana to receive a $21,000 “Festival of Flavors” grant from the USDA. The grant asks school chefs to develop two new menu items that are flavorful, low in sodium and fat and incorporate at least one local, farm-fresh ingredient.

“We have come up with a shrimp étouffée where we will be using Louisiana shrimp. It’s going to be a whole new recipe that’s low in sodium,” said dietician Jenny DeRoche, the nutrition coordinator for School Food and Nutrition Services. “The other recipe is a Creole pastalaya that will use fresh Creole tomatoes and a locally made sausage.”

Before being added to menus, both recipes will be tested in school cafeterias and by the USDA’s “K-12 Culinary Team” – chefs and dieticians from across the country who are providing virtual training sessions to the grant recipients.

“The ultimate goal is to provide the recipes to the USDA,” DeRoche said.

Professional development

Two summer conferences – the School Nutrition Association of Louisiana meeting in Baton Rouge in June, and a July gathering of the National School Nutrition Association in Orlando – exposed School Food and Nutrition Services Director Ellen Gauthreaux and her fellow school food service professionals to the latest food products and equipment.

Jet Tila, a chef with the Food Network, was on hand to demonstrate his recipe for chicken dumplings, an item that will be tested soon at archdiocesan cafeterias.

On the equipment front, conference goers were introduced to a “rapid-cook” oven brand called TurboChef, which can bake a whole pizza in just three minutes without sacrificing the flavor or aroma of a traditionally baked pizza.

“We will be piloting (pizzas made in the TurboChef) soon at one of our high schools for future use in all our high schools,” DeRoche said, sharing another item under development: a cafeteria-approved buffalo sauce for chicken dishes.

“The kids love ‘spicy’ and they love ‘sour,’” she said.

The school food professionals also explored new ways to deliver the USDA’s minimum requirements of one cup of fruit at every breakfast served; one cup of fruit at every lunch served to high school diners; and ½ cup of fruit at every lunch served to elementary-age students.

“We (in the Archdiocese of New Orleans) exceed those minimum daily requirements by offering a full cup of fruit at every meal for both elementary and high school,” DeRoche noted.

One new fruit-related menu addition is “Slush,” a popsicle-like fruit and fruit juice blend that provides a full serving of fruit in five flavors: blue raspberry, cherry-limeade, kiwi-strawberry, paradise punch and sour apple.

“We have started offering Slush on one Thursday of the month during the hot months. We call it ‘Tropical Thursday,’” DeRoche said.
Another new fruit option, available every Thursday at breakfast, is the choice of a strawberry-banana smoothie or a yogurt parfait.

Get your tastebuds ready!

Monthly “Nutrition Days” – on which young diners are invited to sample a seasonal fruit or vegetable that’s rarely or never offered on the regular menu – have been announced for school year 2022-23. Bell peppers of every color were spotlighted in September. The remaining schedule will celebrate Creole tomatoes (October); mushrooms (November); tangerines (January); collard greens (February); kiwis (March); and blueberries (April).

Other efforts undertaken by School Food and Nutrition Services and its network of cafeterias include food-themed celebrations, principal satisfaction surveys, a principal’s newsletter and a newsletter for parents. For more information, visit the agency’s newly redesigned website, schoolcafe.org. The website has a handy link to the related Facebook page.