The basic lifecycle of cafeteria food can be broken down into three basic components: where it comes from, how its made, and what it contains. But despite what TV might have use believe, cafeteria meals are not randomly sourced parts tossed together in a blender to make something vaguely edible.

“It’s a lot more complex process than people realize,” said Ossler, as she explained where our food is sourced. “We have numerous purveyors.”

While a majority of entrees, frozen foods, and shelf-stable goods come from US Foods, Inc.,  NA also tries to take advantage of local sources. Every bread product comes from local providers, like Schwebel’s Bakery, for the entire district, and another main provider, Paragon Produce, when possible, with the end goal of sourcing food fruits and vegetables from within 200 miles.

NA also participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The NSLP is a federally-assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or no-cost lunches to children each school day. Here at NA, the NSLP helps to provide free or reduced meals (breakfast and lunch) to about ten percent of NA students in the district. In addition, the NSLP allows NA to receive government commodities, like the popular frozen peach cups, at a discounted rate for being involved in the NSLP.

Even with government, state, and local resources, Ossler states that they try to do as much in-house as they can. “We have bakers every day who make the bakery items from scratch,” she explained. “Things the pepperoni rolls and the General Tso’s sauce are also made by hand.”

In the end, a typical breakdown of a meal can be best represented by the different components of a chicken mashed potato bowl: instant potatoes, locally sourced bread, corn from the government, cheese from local dairy providers, and chicken from Tools for Schools.

The food we eat doesn’t just magically appear on the tray. Everything that is served is made daily, by 80 cafeteria workers across the district, twelve of whom reside at NASH, as well as two full-time and one part-time baker.

Perhaps one of the most surprising parts of the interview was my newfound realization that the cafeteria workers are ‘technically’ not members of NA staff and do a variety of catering as well as cooking for events like the Distinguished Alumni Visits.

“All of the food staff is employed by Metz Culinary Management and we are contracted to work at the district,” said Ossler. “So we have Metz’s standards that we are required to meet, as well as state and government, and of course, NA standards.”

This means that food has to be evaluated on those four different standards and constantly regulated across the district. One item may not be in compliance with NA standards but is in compliance with government standards, and so forth. While the biggest piece is the NSLP since there is a financial component, all food that the staff makes must be compliant with all of the regulations.

This concern also relates to items in the bakery. For example, the brownies that taste so amazing? They’re actually made from applesauce in order to be considered more of a “fruit” than a dessert therefore be in compliance with the regulations. It is not simply items coming in that must be carefully chosen but every item going out.

That’s why the cafeteria simply cannot start serving Starbucks (as amazing as that would be) because they must adhere to the restrictions of those categories, or start serving steak because there is also a final limit to what the workers can make within their budget and time constraints.

If it sounds complex, it is. Everything that you put in your mouth daily has been thought about, tested, thought about again, and made to specifications until it can finally be served on your tray.

And finally, the biggest question of all: what’s actually in cafeteria food?  This… this is where it gets odd.

We’ve touched on replacements in food concerning the brownies, as well as other bakery items. But the regulations don’t’ simply extend to entrees but to every snack and beverage in the building.

To understand this, you have to understand something called “Smart Snacks.” This designation outlines that every meal, snack, or beverage must be, among other things, a whole grain product, with the first listed ingredient being a fruit, vegetable, dairy product, grain, or protein  and has to contain 10 percent of the daily value of one of the following nutrients: calcium, potassium, vitamin D, or dietary fiber.

For entrees, this is easier to get away with. But it gets interesting when you think in terms of snacks. Everything you eat, from the donuts to chips to Kickstarters, has been altered in the same way the brownies have to meet these standards.

“Even though we might serve Doritos on the serving line, they are not the same ones you might find at the grocery store,” said Ossler. “They’re reformulated to make sure they are Smart Snack compliant.”

This concern doesn’t end in the cafeteria. While fundraisers are exempt from these rules, the vending machines are not. Pepsi products may technically be sold through the Athletics Department, but they still have to be Smart Snack compliant and offer things such as calorie-free beverage options and are transformed in the same way Dorito’s are to fit these standards.

As for the meals themselves? NSLP rules state that all meals must comply with the following:

– Be between 750 and 850 calories daily

– Have less than 10 percent saturated fat

– Contain zero trans fat

– Contain less than 1080 grams of sodium

All dairy products, under NA standards, are hormone-free and low fat, and many items are locally sourced. To reach the target nutrition goal, NA also offers up to four fruits and/or vegetables and must offer the five components with every meal.

It’s not tossing various animal parts in a blender and serving it as “meat.” In reality, that blended substance would have to meet every standard set forth and, unless made from applesauce, it’s highly unlikely it would be Smart Snack compliant.

It’s the question that sparked the mystery. When we plop down a chicken patty onto our trays, why do the majority of students have no idea about the nutrition facts of what they’re eating?

While some material, like the NSLP, is depicted online, Ossler is currently working on transferring a 60-page document (linked below) that covers the nutrition facts of every school meal in an Excel format that meets the district’s standards. And while Ossler hopes to have it done by the start of the next school year, it takes time to transfer that much information.

Until that time comes, this article can serve as the SparkNotes version of a complex, multi-faceted topic that takes place behind cafeteria doors.

So the next time you pick up a brownie off the lunch line or eat a chicken mashed potato bowl, at least know there is a little less mystery – and a little more applesauce.

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High School – Menu Analysis Report Jan 2019