This year, homemade muffins and other items will be introduced to students. | Photo: Shutterstock
In the Edgefield County School District in Johnston, South Carolina, school breakfast and lunch menus traditionally feature items that can be heated and eaten immediately.
One reason for the large school lunch presence is the nutrition department’s lack of participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) School Lunch Program, which provides school nutrition programs with U.S.-sourced commodities grown and produced for schools.
“We are accepting cash instead of groceries,” says Connie Cunningham, child nutrition director, “and as a result, most of the meals we provide are just meant to be heated.”
But that’s all set to change this school year thanks to Cunningham hiring a chef. Join the team with financial support Healthy School Meal Incentives (HMI) are provided through the USDA and the nonprofit organization Action for Healthy Kids.
The grant program is designed to help small and/or rural school districts source local ingredients and expand their artisanal menus.
Thanks to the grant, chef Heather Biddlecombe recently joined the team and has been helping her new colleagues incorporate batch cooking and homemade recipes into this semester’s menus.
Learn from each other
Before coming to Edgefield, Biddlecombe I worked in a variety of jobs in the food industry, including fine dining restaurants and nursery kitchens.
“I thought she was the best of both worlds for our district,” Cunningham said.
Initially, there was some hesitation among the staff. Biddlecombe She initially joined the team, but once she entered the kitchen she quickly built a rapport with the staff.
“When she walked into the kitchen, [staff]”They’re chatting and learning right along with her,” Cunningham said.
Biddlecombe They also take the time to listen to staff and learn what their day-to-day responsibilities of serving students include.
“They can share tips with her, but she can also share her expertise with them,” Cunningham noted.
Batch cooking and building homemade recipes
One of the first challenges is Biddlecombe The idea was to develop a series of breakfast muffin recipes.
“We wanted to start with muffins because we wanted the smell of freshly baked muffins to fill the air when kids come to school in the morning,” Cunningham says.
The nutrition team has now developed five low carb muffin recipes. Biddlecombe It is offered over a 4 week cycle.
“We offer one homemade muffin every week,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham said the muffins have had an “overwhelming response” from students and have increased participation in breakfast, with the lemon and chocolate chip muffins being the clear favorites so far.
Biddlecombe The team has also adopted more batch cooking; previously, for certain menu items, such as chicken Alfredo, staff would prep the food all at once in the morning.
now, Biddlecombe We taught our team how far in advance to start preparing food so that it would be hot and fresh when students came for lunch. Changing the recipe to batch cook also helped the whole wheat spaghetti in our dish last longer.
“When you use whole wheat spaghetti, the noodles dissolve a little bit more easily than if they were white dough noodles, which are more nutritious,” Cunningham says, “so if you’re using whole wheat, cooking in bulk really helps.”
Add Biddlecombe “It’s been a great benefit to the team,” Cunningham said, adding that he’s excited to continue introducing new recipes when students return to class in the fall.
“Since she came to us, she has taught our cafeteria managers a lot of skills,” she said. “We’re really glad to have her in our district.”
