La Mate Foods Case Study

A school district in Minnesota, Hopkins School District, has started using debit accounts and personal identification numbers to purchase food, which increased efficiency for their food service program. The point of sale system allows students to link with their purchases on a cash registrar. It was typical for students to get a la carte foods as well as the NSLP lunches. Up until 2003, cuisines in the main line were easy-to-prepare, and a la carte items included pizza, cheeseburgers, French fries, chips, and high-calorie beverages. Lunchroom meals were all served on disposable trays. The vending machines consisted of soda, candy, and potato chips. Everything began to change in July of 2003 when the district hired a new food service director who had professional food service management skills. They started at the high school, by opening an optional

The district then began a new program called the Royal Cuisine, which dramatically impacted all the schools across the district. The program focused more on nutritious foods on site and no longer had meals warmed before serving. They began to switch to low-fat salad dressings and cheese, whole-wheat bread and pizza crusts and added vegetables to many dishes. The program prepared foods from scratch and provided more fresh fruits and vegetables, which increased prices. The school district does have a "closed campus" policy, which means students are not allowed to go off campus to buy food, which helped the district not to have to compete against fast-food outlets. Hopkins staff reported very little food was thrown away because students had a range of choices and satisfied their food preferences. Promoting healthier food choices is a major issue across the United States, but school districts can revamp their food program with a commitment to providing healthy and appealing food choices to students. Over time children develop healthier eating habits if given a selection of appealing, nutritious foods