Midtown ended its third-party contract to provide school lunches this year and began sourcing lunches through the school district, in an attempt to increase quality.
“Beginning this fall, our food service operations transitioned from a vendor-operated program to an in-house model aimed at enhancing the quality, healthiness and diversity of the meal provided to students,” Atlanta Public Schools’ District 3 Representative Ken Zeff said.
Zeff said that the change to the in-house model came after student complaints. In addition to the in-house model, the district has increased the budget for school lunch.
“We consistently heard concerns from students about the quality and variety of food options,” Zeff said. “District staff recommended that the school board invest additional resources into meaningful improvements in the school lunch program. The Board approved an increase of about $15 million to ensure more options, better service and a higher quality school lunch program for all students. Additionally, the MealViewer app allows each student and caregiver to access their school menu anywhere.”
The system changes may sound minor, but Midtown school lunch manager Santana Maddox said she has seen a noticeable difference in the number of students eating school lunch this year.
“A lot has changed,” Maddox said. “I have noticed more students getting lunch this year. We are up to around 150 kids this year.”
Junior McKenzie Godfrey has eaten school lunch for the past two years. She believes the food and overall lunch experience have improved.
“The school lunch this year has improved a lot,” Godfrey said. “The portions, variety and overall quality, are all way better than they were last year. It used to be a hit or miss with lunch because, sometimes, your lunch would be cold, or you would get unlucky with a plate that had way less food than the person in front of you. However, this year, portion sizes are now fair for the most part, and my lunch has been served at the right temperature every day so far.”
Sophomore Eva Florez did not eat school lunch last year; this year, however, she eats it almost every day. She said this allows her to have more energy throughout the day.
“I have started to get [school lunch] more this year than last,” Florez said. “I think it’s important to have energy throughout the rest of your day and to have a good diet.”
Elena Volkova said that the improved school lunches ease some of her worries about her daughter.
“[My daughter] Sophia did say that lunches taste much better this year and that the food is being cooked on-site,” Volkova said. “I definitely feel better that Sophia can eat at school, and I don’t have to worry about it.”
Nutritional and appetizing food is important for everyone but especially for students during the eight-hour school day. Zeff said the change was made for the students.
“Students will be able to select an entrée from multiple offerings each day, and the APS Salad Bowl will contain a variety of fruits and vegetables, including fresh and locally grown options,” Zeff said. “Research shows that a high-quality school lunch program improves concentration, attendance, and is an important investment in equity for our students who might not have regular access to nutritious meals. A high-quality school lunch program contributes to healthier students, which translates into better performance in school across various measures of achievement.”
Besides the quality increase, the school lunch is much more varied now. There are more options to choose from, and the options switch more regularly.
“Our options have increased this year,” Godfrey said. “We now have three different options every day to choose from rather than the pizza line, and then the other two lines being the same thing, which is really helpful because it also shortens the pizza line. Even in the pizza line, the sides are changing, as well. They gave us more options with multiple fruits and vegetables that weren’t available last year. Similarly, the food served now includes a lot of different cultures that I enjoy.”
Midtown is one of the 12 schools in APS that participates in the Federal Eligibility Application program, which offers free and reduced meals to qualifying students, but Midtown students are not automatically enrolled for free lunch. This means that while many students spend less on school lunch, most students pay full price: $1.50 for breakfast and $3.00 for lunch.
“[The new school lunches] are better for Midtown because Midtown is one of the schools that has to pay [for school lunch],” Maddox said. “A lot of schools have free lunch, but we don’t. A lot of the kids pay, but a lot of the kids don’t pay. Midtown is one of the top APS schools, and they are looking for high expectations. That is why we are top-of-the-line, top school right now.”
Maddox believes this revenue from school lunches creates a cycle that will continue to improve the school lunch system.
“The money [from the lunches] doesn’t go straight back to the lunches, but it goes back into the school system,” Maddox said. “The money can be used if Midtown needs more food or money to pay workers or anything else for the school. It all comes back.”