TOLLAND — In a world of high-fat, jumbo fast food meals where slabs of fried chicken are considered an acceptable substitute for sandwich bread, it can be difficult for schools to entice students to make healthy food choices.
That’s where the Build-a-Tray school lunch program comes in, Abby Kassman-Harned, Tolland schools food service director, said.
“We find the more variety of options kids have, the more likely they are to find something they like, take it, and eat it,” Kassman said Thursday.
That process historically has been harder than it might seem, particularly when it comes to healthy options, but, Kassman said, students so far seem to be taking more healthy food and throwing less away later, thanks to Build-a-Tray.
Tolland Intermediate School signed on to the program in March, and, Kassman said, students already have caught on to the new system, which is constructed like a game.
When the school’s third, fourth, and fifth graders step into the lunch line, they receive a foam tray with sections numbered 1 to 5 and read a menu of their options for the day.
Kassman, who has been the school’s food service director for three years and was assistant director for five years before that, said the school provides students with a variety of choices, including two hot entrée options and one cold entrée per day.
Students choose foods that match the numbers in their tray, starting with 1, which represents protein, and 2, which stands for grain or bread.
They then need to add a serving of No. 3, or vegetables, and fill compartment No. 4 with a serving of fruit. No. 5, the last tray compartment, holds the students’ milk, a constant in every lunch, Kassman said.
The program also takes into account “combination food,” such as soups, pizza, sandwiches, and burritos, and, Kassman said, there are other ways to mix and match as long as the finished tray satisfies federal and state nutrition guidelines.
The program, which is being marketed by the Massachusetts-based company The ArtWorks Shop, helps schools satisfy the “Offer vs. Serve” program, a mandated initiative that seeks to let students choose from a variety of federally approved healthy food rather than being forced to eat a standardized daily meal.
Kassman said she purchased a baseline materials kit to jumpstart the program, and if Build-a-Tray proves successful, she’ll expand it further.
About 50 percent of students at the school participate in the lunch program, meaning the cafeteria’s workers have to make enough food for 400 meals daily. Kassman said in addition to Build-a-Tray, the cafeteria participates in the farm-to-school program with nearby Wright’s Orchard, so students can have fresh, locally grown food as often as possible.
All of this is done so students are exposed to a variety of food choices they might not have at home, and a different way of thinking about food.
Though carrots and apples abound, there aren’t any candy or junk food-stocked vending machines in Tolland’s schools.
“It’s not to say there isn’t room in our lives for candy and chocolate and things like that, but this is a school, and we’re trying to be good role models for behavior,” Kassman said.
Fifth-grader Hannah Katherine Mozdzierz said she has been diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy, so she likes having a wide array of fruits and vegetables to choose from every day.
Her favorite food in the lunch line?
“Cucumbers,” Mozdzierz said, smiling.
She does have a bit of a leg up on nutrition, however. Her mother, Kim, is a food service employee in the school cafeteria. But the older Mozdzierz said she’s noticed all of the children who get school lunch seem to be picking up a lot of information from the program.
“They know the names of all the fruits and vegetables now,” Mozdzierz said, adding, “The kids are more aware of what they’re choosing when they come through.”