Marple Newtown Food Services Hopes to Boost Student Lunch Participation With New Cafeteria

NEWTOWN SQUARE–In comparison to the 2009-2010 school year, the number of students purchasing lunch meals in the dropped nearly by half.

In 2009-2010, there were over 49,000 meals served in the district and in the 2010-2011 school year, there were just a little over 25,000 meals. The main drop occurred in the first few months of the school year.

The reason for the drastic drop in numbers? There were many factors that attributed to the fall of lunch participation in the district this past year, particularly with , according to Marple Newtown School District Food Services Director Eileen Bellew.

"We have an unhealthy economy today–people are making lunches at home," said Bellew. "But what happened in the beginning of the school year...we were limited with what we were serving."

What Bellew is referring to is the that occurred at the high school, which involved constructing an entirely new, state-of-the-art cafeteria in the beginning of the school year.

"We had our kitchen and it was fully operational, and we prepared salads and sandwiches in the kitchen," explained Bellew. "We didn't do any hot items because I was just afraid of meeting the required temperatures so we just did cold items, and we would serve pizza from an outside vendor. The first few months we were off to a rocky start."

Bellew notes that the district does offer free and reduced price lunch programs for families who meet a certain requirement, and encourages anyone who may (or may not think) that they are eligible to just apply.

But whether it was the construction at the high school that affected the students purchasing lunches in the cafeteria, or if they simply just got used to packing and bringing their own lunches to use that money to fill their gas tanks, Bellew isn't quite sure. But one thing she's sure about–"We were never able to capture those students to bring them back."

Essentially a separate entity from the school district as a self-funded department, the Food Services Department relies heavily on student buyers.

"We're our own business within this district and we don't rely on the general fund and we shouldn't rely on the general fund," said Bellew. "And we should be breaking even; any money we do make goes back into the program. We're in the business to feed children."

In addition to the pressures of breaking even, the district also has to meet the federal mandates for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that was passed in December 2010 by the Obama Administration.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released new guidelines earlier this year which required every district in the nation to follow their new meal specifications, which included anything from daily doses of fresh fruits and vegetables to whole grains for every lunch.

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) responded to the USDA's requirements and wrote a letter on June 14 to the U.S. House of representatives, mainly focusing on the lack of federal funding to meet these requirements.

"Without the needed funding, the law’s goals of proving more nutritious foods to all schoolchildren—particularly those who don’t get a good meal at home—will be just a 'hollow promise,' wrote the NSBA.

Though Bellew was all for the healthy meal guidelines, she also shared the same sentiments of how school districts would be able to pay for the nutritious foods.

"Being healthy is expensive and being unhealthy is also expensive because if you don't pay for it now, you're going to pay for it later," shared Bellew. "It's just that–where is this money going to come from? I do hope that it does have healthy meals in their plan but I also hope that it balances our budget. It's quite a challenge."

On June 17, the USDA amended its Healthy, Hunger-Free Act in acknowldgement of many school districts' outcry for the lack of federal funding. The new rule is effective on July 1.

The amended rule states, "This rule requires school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide the same level of financial support for lunches served to students who are not eligible for free or reduced price lunches as is provided for lunches served to students eligible for free lunches."

Furthermore, "This rule also requires that all food sold in a school and purchased with funds from the nonprofit school food service account, other than meals and supplements reimbursed by the Department of Agriculture, must generate revenue at least equal to the cost of such foods."

Bellew said they may be ahead of the game for now, as the district has already made some measures implementing healthier alternatives during lunchtime. Bellew began adding in new, healthier choices on the menu since she's been on board four years ago. Instead of regular ice cream, they now serve low-fat, reduced sugar, whole wheat pretzels, whole wheat pizzas, and whole wheat rolls for garden salads, just to name a few.

"We're really trying to get towards meeting those healthy requirements," said Bellew. "It's just hard to balance the nutrition with the budget."

Though she has many obstacles ahead, Bellew is confident that the district will bring their numbers of student lunch participation back up come fall, especially with their new state-of-the-art kitchen and cafeteria.

"I really think next year we're going to have a good year–it's a brand new facility," said Bellew positively. "You make a few changes, bring new items in, and we have to market ourselves a little better. "

For questions on the free or reduce priced lunch programs or for more information on the food services department, contact Eileen Bellew at 610.359.4275.