Geneva Students Getting Healthier Lunches

District 304 students will be eating fewer hamburgers and more hummus at school this year, the Board of Education learned Monday.

Becky Selcke, general manager of  Sodexho's area office, outlined several steps the food service company has recently taken to help students learn to eat nutritious, balanced diets. "It seems that every year we add something to the lunch program to improve it," said District 304 Superintendent Kent Mutchler.

Sodexho officials plan to decrease how often they serve high-fat, high-calorie foods like hamburgers and introduce healthier alternatives, Selcke said. Among the new lunch choices students will find this year are hummus with vegetables and pita chips, soy butter with jelly, low-fat yogurt, brown rice and whole-wheat pasta.

Sodexho surveyed parents last spring to find out which entrees they object to most. "The No. 1 item that parents wanted cut back is nachos with cheese," Selcke reported. "Many parents said they consider that a snack rather than a real food." Nachos will be offered once every eight weeks this year instead of once a month, she added.

Students also will be able to eat more locally grown produce through Sodexho's farm-to-school program, Selcke said. Area farmers also will come to the elementary schools periodically to present information on different fruits and vegetables available in the Midwest. The Geneva Green Market will help coordinate that program.

"Thank you for including the Green Market," said board member Kelly Nowak. "Their expertise will be a real asset."

Selcke said she is taking steps to ensure parents of students with food allergies can find out what ingredients are in school lunch items. Each school will keep a binder containing ingredient lists for all of Sodexho's current offerings in the front office, where parents can come to read them. If the ingredients for any particular item change unexpectedly, Sodexho will fax or e-mail the information to concerned parents and to school nurses to help students affected by the change avoid allergy triggers.

Selcke added that the large number of vendors Sodexho contracts with prevents the company from posting ingredient listings online.

"It's really a bummer that parents can't access that information online," said board member Matt Henry. "I have a daughter with a severe milk allergy, and being able to see what's in (each menu item) every week would be a big help. As big as you are, you should put pressure on your vendors to provide that information well in advance."

Sodexho runs nutrition and exercise education programs in Geneva schools. For more information, contact school officials or visit Sodexho's Web site at www.sodexhousa.com.