What if Children Ran the School Lunchroom?

What if Children Ran the School Lunchroom?

A new program lets students customize(ˈkəstəˌmīz) their meals(mēl), participate in taste(tāst) tests and brainstorm ways to redesign their school cafeterias(ˌkafiˈti(ə)rēə).

By Anahad O’Connor

On a recent Tuesday, the cafeteria at KairosPDX(ˈkīräs) charter(ˈCHärdər) school in Portland(ˈpôrtlənd), Ore.(ôr), was buzzing(ˈbəziNG) as students lined up to taste two freshly(ˈfreSHlē) made butternut(ˈbədərˌnət) squash(skwäSH,skwôSH) recipes(ˈresəˌpē). On one side of the table was roasted(rōst) butternut squash. On the other side, a creamy(ˈkrēmē) butternut squash soup(so͞op).

“This one is the best,” said Mari(ˈmärē), a fifth grader(ˈgrādər), as she gulped(gəlp) soup from a small cup. “It’s super delicious. I want a big bowl(bōl) of it to eat at home.”

The students were participating in a “Tasty(ˈtāstē) Challenge” event organized by FoodCorps, a nonprofit(ˈnänˈpräfit) organization that connects children to healthy food in schools. The group recently teamed(tēm) up with Sweetgreen, the national salad(ˈsaləd) chain(CHān), to carry(ˈkarē) out a new program that aims(ām) to improve the school food experience by letting(let) students customize their meals, participate in taste tests and brainstorm ways to redesign their school cafeterias.

As part of the initiative(iˈniSH(ē)ədiv), called “Reimagining(ˌrē-iˈmajən) School Cafeterias,” the students at KairosPDX got to compare the two butternut squash recipes and then vote(vōt) on their favorite one using an iPad. The soup won in a landslide(ˈlan(d)ˌslīd), and the school is considering adding it to the cafeteria lunch menu(ˈmenyo͞o).

…
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/well/eat/School-cafeteria-lunch-children-health-foodcorps-sweetgreen.html