Fresh fruit? “Juicy.” Mashed butternut squash? “Nasty.”
Those were the reviews of some of the most important critics of the ambitious new effort by New Haven public schools to transform lunches into healthful arrays of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Independent collected reviews at lunch the other day from 7th and 8th graders at Katherine Brennan School in West Rock. They liked some of the items, while giving the thumbs down to some others.
Meanwhile, long-serving lunch ladies report an unequivocal overall result: More food is getting eaten. Less is getting wasted.
Ketchup is not classified as a “vegetable” for school lunch purposes, despite Ronald Reagan’s best efforts. But ketchup is an important part of lunch, and the half dozen students who serve as editors on the Brennan school newspaper who rated the meal gave it a thumbs down. “It’s watery,” they complained. The proof was in the packet that, when squeezed, released its contents in a quick series of drops rather than in slower, heftier globules.
Tim Cipriano couldn’t agree more, but help is on the way. “We’re getting a new vendor, and they’ll have Heinz ketchup,” he said. Cipriano, a.k.a, the Food Dude, took over in July as director of the schools’ food service program, after Aramark was dismissed.
On a recent Friday the main lunch attraction was cheeseburgers and Tater Tots, with a choice of almost-skim chocolate milk, 2 percent white milk or orange juice. The “healthy option” was tuna with mayo (but no onions, peppers or pickles), saltines and a green salad with a small (too small) packet of Italian dressing.
In the interest of scientific exploration, this vegetarian reporter opted for the tuna, but copped a Tater Tot off a nearby plate. The tot (sampled without the all-important ketchup) was dry and tasteless, but at least not over-salted. The tuna was tasty with just the right amount of mayo, although the kids insisted it’s too dry for their taste. The salad was basic, with green lettuce, tomato, carrots and cucumber, all crisp and fresh.
On a scale of 1 to 5, the taste-testing students gave the burger four 3s, a 2 and a 4. The Tater Tots elicited three 4s, a 2, and two 1s. (“Too hard,” the dissenters said.)
Eighth-grader Anton Mabry (pictured with fellow eighth-grader Jada Brown) had the strongest opinions about the new food regime. “The chicken breast is dry, but the chicken nuggets are chewy and good — better than last year. Apples with cinnamon are really good.”
In general, he said, “Don’t give me no health food.” He lamented that chips and cookies are no longer for sale at the school.
A few of the students said they hadn’t noticed significant changes in the food. Seventh-grader Shatyra Prescott (pictured at the top of the story) said, “The only things good are the fruit cups and pizza and chicken nuggets.” She said at home she eats “health food” like carrots.
Seventh-grader Ebony Binns said she likes the whole wheat bread and buns better than the less wholesome bread that was formerly served.
So, as these young people made clear, the changes have been introduced gradually.
“We’re taking baby steps, so we’re not making huge changes across the board,” Cipriano said in a later interview. “We don’t want the kids to say, ‘Oops, what happened to the food?’”
More fruits and veggies have been added to the menus. Cipriano said while some of the kids hated the butternut squash served last week, others loved it. (What’s not to love? this reporter wondered silently.)
The chicken patties and nuggets now have whole grain breading; Cipriano hopes eventually to get rid of nuggets altogether. Same with the Tater Tots. In their place will come roasted chicken on the bone and roasted potatoes cooked from scratch. As for the milk, he’s moving to cut the standard from reduced fat to low fat (2 percent to 1 percent).
Right now, each school gets ten healthy option meals a day. The lunch ladies at Brennan said those lunches all get eaten; they could probably move more. Miranda Cox (pictured) was alone among the kids interviewed who said she likes the healthy meal choice.
Janet Garrett (pictured) works in the cafeteria and is also president of the school’s PTO. She said the food is noticeably healthier. Kids are eating more and throwing out less, she said. The other two cafeteria workers, who were shy about having their pictures taken, between them have put in a quarter century serving lunch to New Haven school students. They agreed with Garrett’s assessment.
“A lot of comments I hear is that we don’t want to do anything different because the kids don’t get anything different at home,” Cipriano said. “My feeling is that this is an educational experience, so if we serve squash, they may not like it the first time, or the second or third time, but maybe the fourth time. We’re educating kids.”
A Big Bravo!!! We must remember even as adults changing ones diet to a healthier one takes time. I think the kids will take to it the ways they are introducing it. Again Bravo!