East Windsor Public Schools sent home in October, a survey to get family feedback on the transition to their new lunch program. Here’s a quick Q&A with Director of Food Services, Zach Gillis, in response to the survey.
Q: What did you learn from the survey responses?
A: The biggest thing we have learned is the student expectations of East Windor’s menu! Going in with a new menu to every district we work with is unique, and no student expectation is the same. Our menu contains many different culinary styles, and allows us to see what the students in the district want to see more and less of.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge?
A: The biggest challenge was inheriting the previous food order. Sort of like moving into a new house and the cabinets and refrigerator are already stocked. September was a challenge for us in this regard and we learned a lot. At the same time, state and federal guidelines changed, so we had to learn the ins and outs of those requirements.
Q: Have you changed the menu now that you are in charge of the groceries so to speak?
A: Yes. We added PB&J sandwiches to menus after they were not on the menu we inherited. We moved to “Uncrustables” based on student feedback. We changed out the vegetarian bowl as a main entree to more popular items, but vegetarian alternatives are always available. We kept things like chicken nuggets, but we have worked on trying several different chicken patty & burger products to continue to improve in response to feedback from students.
Q: What else should parents, guardians, and students know?
A: Like a restaurant, we are working on new recipes based on feedback to include different flavor profiles, we are updating portion sizes so that the students have increased meal sizes while maintaining nutritional control. As always we allow multiple servings of fruits and vegetables if students are still hungry after their meal.
Q: What’s next?
A: I believe any feedback we get from students and families is important to ensuring the students are getting what they actually want to see on the menu, while also allowing them to try new things. We will continue to improve day in and day out and thank everyone for their continued support on building better East Windsor Public Schools School Nutrition Programs.