Quick guide highlighting school meal program details to build awareness and understanding about the realities of school meals and the process of change.
This resource is designed to put a bit of context around the decisions our School Meal Operators are making when it comes to the menu options they are providing. There are so many factors they have to weigh and consider, and while we would love to see school kitchens fully preparing meals from scratch and consistently using local products, there is a certain reality at play here as to why these efforts may seem slower than preferred.
It is so important to approach your School Meal Operators with a bit of understanding around everything they are having to juggle. We find value (and success!) in looking for the good and then supporting incremental changes towards an enhanced school meal program.
For our School Meal Operators, feel free to use this resource when communicating to students, parents, community members and more about your goals for your program and the process of change.
It is also worth calling out the School Meal Requirements resource we developed. On top of everything detailed in the resource above, our School Meal Operators also have to navigate regulations surrounding the meals being offered. This all adds another layer to an incredibly complex system that is under-valued and stretched very thin. Our Operators are doing amazing work across our State, they are dedicated to feeding their students well, and change is possible when it is strategically thought out and designed with sustainability in mind.