'Healthy', 'Delicious' School Lunches to Replace Current Menu

The bouncing beef patties, tater tots and stale cookies you remember from your school lunch days are no more. Thanks to an experimental pilot program with an emphasis on farm-fresh offerings, Ridgewood school lunches will be healthy, tasty, and affordable starting in September, according to the district's food service provider, Pomptonian.

"This is a departure from the standard menu," Pomptonian President Mark Vidovich said Monday night, unveiling the new lunch program dubbed "Village Fresh."

The meals include an entree with protein/grains, fruits and vegetables, and hormone-free low-fat milk or water. The price will increase slightly in price to $3.50 or $4.75.

The menu encompasses cage-free chicken, all-natural mini meatballs, caesar salads, whole grain french toast, tuna salads, tortelini, sweet 'n sour chicken, chicken tenders, pancakes, Hawaiian chicken wraps, bagels, fiesta bowls, natural beef sliders, Asian soba noodle salads, yogurt, Boar's Head cold cuts, hummus and a smathering of fruits, vegetables and juices.

So why the change? In short, school lunches just weren't very good, nor were they terribly healthy. Participation in the program hovered around 30 percent for years.

Concern for the quality of lunch offerings by Ridge Elementary School moms Kristina Phillips and Signe Howard led to the creation of a test program at Ridge. It was successful, so Pomptonian, the district food provider for 25 years, enlisted their help for "Village Fresh."

The pair paid visits to all six elementary schools, met with principals and other parents to help develop a new program.

Above identifying a need to incorporate less processed food into the menu, they acknowledged the process needs to be far easier for parents. With only 20-something minutes, students often spent a good portion of their lunch periods simply waiting in line.

To boot, the local delis have capitalized on the lackluster school lunch program, snagging customers and creating difficulties for front desk secretaries tasked to distribute deliveries.

Under the "Village Fresh" program, meals come packaged in "Bento Boxes," plastic containers with the child's name already listed. Parents can order meals a month in advance, or up until 8 a.m. that day. There's no longer a convenience fee levied, Vidovich said.

The district has also left the federal School Lunch Program – which absolves it from strict nutritional and portion size regulations – and will have to find another way to make up for the $70,000 in lost subsidies.

According to departing Business Administrator Angelo DeSimone, participation in the new program will defray those losses. He expects a significant increase as word circulates of the new lunch program.

The school board's resolution guarantees Pomptonian a $10,000 profit for the upcoming school year.

What do you think of the new lunch program? Will it succeed?