Aug. 26--It's not cruise ship cuisine -- but area kids may be impressed with the food choices and creativity they find along the lunch line this year.
"The days of the old lady slinging food on a tray and telling kids to move along -- those days are gone," said Mike Gasper, director of nutrition services for the Holmen School District.
Nowadays lunch ladies (and gentlemen) at area schools pile fresh, local produce on trays, garnish bland-looking dishes with carefully carved vegetables and come up with creative ways to get kids to try healthy foods.
About 200 food service professionals from 15 area school districts gathered Wednesday at Holmen High School to learn about nutrition, food safety, customer service, food garnishing and more. It's the first time the districts have held the training session together, Gasper said.
Over the past five years, area school districts have offered more healthy selections primarily because of greater public awareness of healthy lifestyles and a national push to combat childhood obesity, Gasper said.
Area school districts bring local, fresh fruits and vegetables to cafeterias through farm-to-school programs, said Michelle Kloser, director of nutrition services for the West Salem School District. Two schools in the Tomah School District started gardens within the past two years, so students help grow and harvest the food they'll eat at lunch, said Jesse Bender, food service director for the district.
Food service workers said they notice the more healthy options they offer, the more students start to select these foods off the line.
"It helps instill good eating habits early on," Kloser said.
Along with the healthy trends, food servers' work is becoming more educational and creative, Gasper said. Holmen High School food service sets out star fruit along with a description to encourage students to try it, he said.
West Salem Elementary School offers "packer soup" instead of split pea soup. Sweet potato fries might be called "tiger fries" or "panther fries" depending on which school is serving them.
Food service workers also are learning to be creative with food presentation. Elke Flick, a cook and server at Onalaska Elementary School, learned how to carve a mouse out of a radish to garnish dishes as part of Wednesday's training. She said presentation is important -- especially for young kids who will turn up their nose to an unappetizing looking dish.
To entice kids she serves snowman-shaped bread and chicken patties cut and baked in a sunflower shape, she said.
"It has to look good because they really eat with their eyes," she said.
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