Here's what your kid's school might soon be serving for lunch

The federal government wants them to be nutritious. The local school board wants them to be inexpensive. The principal wants them to be fast. And the kids? The kids want them to taste good. A lot is expected of school lunches these days. Gone are the days...

Here's what your kid's school might soon be serving for lunch

The federal government wants them to be nutritious.

The local school board wants them to be inexpensive.

The principal wants them to be fast.

And the kids?

The kids want them to taste good.

A lot is expected of school lunches these days. Gone are the days when a cafeteria worker would dump that day's menu item onto a plate and proceed to the next student in line.

Today's students are used to more choices, whether salad bars or yogurt sundaes. At the same time, however, they often have shorter lunch periods and must be served food that meets stricter nutritional guidelines.

At a recent conference, school dining directors got a chance to sample items that 50 food vendors want to sell them for the upcoming school year.

"We need more convenience. We need low labor and less waste. Kids want food that's good, and a lot for their money," said Michael Sicinski, director of dining services for the Upper Freehold school district.

"It's grab and go today," he said. "Students want food they can eat and not need a plate."

Yet meals must also comply with the federal nutrition guidelines that went into effect in 2010. It took the food processing industry a while to tweak their offerings to produce tasty alternatives that complied with the new rules, said Rose Tricario, director of the division of food and nutrition at the N.J. Department of Agriculture, which sponsored the conference.

"Nothing is fried now. Chicken nuggets are baked. French fries are baked, not fried," she said.

School districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program get an annual allotment of government commodities - cheese, beef, and the like. Instead of those raw goods being delivered to each school, districts contract with food processing companies to turn their allotments into mac-and-cheese, pulled pork, or beef tacos.

"Two breads, two meats and one cup of vegetables," chanted one vendor as he hawked his offerings, listing the nutritional units by which menu items are judged.

Time and kitchen space hamper a lot of school lunch programs, vendors said, which is why one vendor sells packaged grilled cheese sandwiches that just need to be heated up.

Whether it's siracha sauce, plantains or pierogis, menus now reflect the explosion of ethnic food into the mainstream. Several vendors said they prepare their meat items with only mild spice so the youngest students will eat them. Older students can make them hotter if they want.

That's because dining directors and food processors alike know one thing about their picky consumers: You only get one shot with them, said Al Miltrotz, of Silver Spring Farms, which sells ground beef that can be used for tacos, shepherd's pie, or chili.

"You can get a kid to try anything once," he said.

Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

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