Enhancing Academic Success: Insights From Iron County School Nutrition Experts

We had a great conversation this morning on the radio with some of the members of the Child Nutrition Department from the Iron County School District. Paula Loveland is the District Child Nutrition Supervisor, Gina Delange is the District Child Nutrition Coordinator and Mindy Shearer is the School Child Nutrition Manager at Three Peaks Elementary.

Delange told us that the school lunch program has a big task everyday. “Our National School lunch program is a federally funded program. (Nationally) we feed them over 30 million kids a day in the United States. They rely on it in our district. We feed just under, oh, just about 6000 a day, so it's pretty neat, our jobs.” 

Shearer explained how hunger effects students in the class room saying, “they're not focused. And I think they have a harder time. We actually have a lot of teachers that will send a student down to come and eat even mid morning, because they need they didn't get breakfast that morning. They need something to eat. It'll help them stay focused. It'll help them be calm in the classroom. So they really need that nutrition in the morning.”  

Because the school district is reimbursed through the federal school lunch program, Delange told us that the meals have to be prepared in a certain way.

“Yes, there is  guidelines set out there for us,” Delange said. “We have to stay within a guideline of a meal pattern. So our meal pattern consists of like 5 components a day which is like you got your fruits and your vegetables and your protein and your grain and your milk. The kids have to have three of those five components on their tray at lunch to be a reimbursable meal because it is a, you know, government funded program for us to get reimbursement.” 

To meet the requirements of the program and to provide meals that students enjoy, members of the Child Nutrition department need to select food that meets both goals. For example, grains have to be at least 51% whole grain. They will go to various food shows and do a lot of taste testing, and make sure that what they purchase will meet the federal guidelines. 

Shearer explained the typical size of nutrition staff at an elementary school. “At my elementary school, we have two head cooks myself, and then we have a fruit and vegetable person and then a breakfast prep person. So, there's six of us in the kitchen that serve lunch every day. We serve 130 approximately to 150 at breakfast and then at lunch we serve between 400 to 460.” 

And breakfast is offered at Three Peaks starting at 8:30 in the morning and is usually done by 9, but they also offer a “second chance” breakfast that can last for up to an hour later than the main breakfast time. 

Even though the district is reimbursed from the federal government, that reimbursement does not cover the cost of a meal. The ladies said that the average cost of a meal per child is about $4.20. The maximum charge that the district has is $2.50 for kidnergarten through 5th grade and $2.75 for 6th through 12th graders. Some students qualify for reduced or free lunches, but there are still some who slip through the cracks and don’t have enough to afford a meal. That’s where the community comes in. 

Shearer told us of a recent donation to help assure that every child gets a lunch. “I think the latest donation was through is it Gilbert construction development? And that was a huge donation. So it not only paid off any negative lunch accounts, but it also added to our lunch lady account.” 

And what is the Lunch Lady account? Shearer continued, “The lunch lady account (has) just been a phenomenal tool for us to use. To often, lunch ladies, we're paying for a child's lunch or putting money on a child's account that you see them, you know, the ones that are struggling, you know, the ones that need it and the lunch lady account just allowed us to have a little more flexibility. We can pull from that when we notice the child needs a little something extra when (their) account has gone negative.” 

You can find out more about the nutrition program in the Iron County School District by listening to the podcast below. 

And if you would like to contribute to the school lunch program, get information from the Iron County School District website.