Shorewood School District Food Service
It has been proven that students need good nutrition to feed their minds and bodies, which enables them to learn while in school. Our goal is to provide high quality, safe, and healthy meals to every Shorewood student while providing the best customer service possible.

Nutrition Information

The Food Service Department is proud of the role it plays in providing students with a nutritious meal each school day. Our goal is to provide students with a well balanced meal, which is appealing to students' tastes, and meets the guidelines of the National School Lunch Program.

 

Menu

The USDA meal patterns require five components must be offered to qualify for a reimbursable meal. A Meat/Protein, Fruit, Vegetable, Bread, and Milk must be offered in specific quantities. These meal patterns are designed to provide 1/3 of the recommended dietary allowances for key nutrients. The menu must also provide no more than 30% of the total calories from fat, and no more than 10% from saturated fat over the course of a week.

Click on "My Pyramid" to explore the new food pyramid!

In order to encourage students to eat a complete lunch, we offer two entrée choices per day. Each entrée we offer is available as a meal when bundled with a fruit choice, vegetable choice, milk and bread.

At each building, we feature self serve fruit and vegetable bars to expose students to a variety of healthy foods. By providing three vegetables, a fresh fruit and a canned fruit, the students can pick their favorite items, instead of passing up one choice offered on a menu because they don’t care for it. We will introduced the students to a greater variety of fresh fruit including Papaya, Blood Oranges and Passion Fruit this year, as part of our Harvest of the Month program.  We also serve a whole grain bread, to insure students get the grains they need.

French Fries (which are considered a vegetable) are baked rather than deep fried in all schools, and we have switched to Trans Fat Free potato products.  Desserts are considered a treat with lunch, and are served occasionally on the menu. Other changes we have made include using more reduced calorie dressings, light mayonnaise and portioning condiments by using packets.

 

Commodities

Part of the funding of the National School Lunch Program comes to the district in the form of USDA donated commodities. As students tastes have changed, the types of foods offered as commodities have changed with them. Rather than receive whole Turkeys as in the past, we now receive processed items such as Turkey Mini Corn Dogs, Chicken Nuggets, Fully Cooked Hamburger Patties, Pizza Dippers and Taco Meat. These items are prepared using ingredients that help lower the fat and salt they contain. For example, cheese products are made with part skim milk, and beef products have added soy or turkey. We also receive some of our canned fruit and frozen vegetables as commodities.

 

Cooking

In order to meet the nutritional requirements of our meals, we take specific steps when preparing food items. Ground Beef is rinsed after cooking to skim off fat, and ground turkey is added when possible.  At the Elementary Schools, all products that are typically deep fried, (chicken nuggets, chicken patties, popcorn chicken) are baked in ovens with no oil added. We do not add butter or margarine when cooking vegetables and they are steamed to maintain their valuable nutrients.  Salt is not offered as a condiment at Elementary and Intermediate Schools, and we use pepper and other fresh herbs for seasoning.

 

A la Carte

A la Carte items are snacks that students may purchase that are not part of a meal. They are offered to Middle and High School students only, and are intended to compliment a meal rather than replace it. For that reason, we follow the USDA price guidelines so that a meal is always a better value than purchasing items separately.  All A la Carte items we sell are approved by USDA guidelines, although we have limited high fat A la Carte items, and introduced more baked and lo-fat snack items in their place during the past two years. We use products recommended by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and made other changes as requested by the school district's Wellness Committee.

Taher's Food 4 Life Initiative

We recognize that good nutrition and physical activity are essential for the long-term health of children.  Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions; Type 2 diabetes and other childhood-onset of adult diseases also have reached alarming proportions.

Our commitment to be part of a solution led us to our Food 4 Life initiative, which has been our guiding principle at Taher Inc. since 2006 and includes:

  • introducing children to new and different foods

  • focusing on more scratch cooking, using less processed foods

  • increasing the offerings of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes

  • utilizing more locally grown products when available

  • providing additional opportunities for development of our cooks by working with our regional and corporate chefs, and through chef training seminars

We have eliminated all trans fats in products we purchase, and use low sodium bases in our recipes.  We have specified milk without Bovine Growth Hormone, BGH.

Our menu standards follow the White House Initiative, and the HealthierUS School Challenge.

 

This year we have expanded our Farm to School Program to 17 different fruits and vegetables grown locally when in season.  Students will be able to see the name of the farm and location when these wonderful farm fresh items are served.

 

At each elementary building, we post nutrition tips aimed at younger students, to help build good eating habits. We are promoting Nutrition Month with nutrition display boards in the cafeterias. Students will see a comparison of sugar and fat contained in the popular foods they eat, to help them understand the impact good choices makes on their health.

We understand the changing environment and the concern of rising childhood obesity. We will continue to evaluate the lunch program as new information is received, and make changes as necessary to comply with USDA guidelines and any local policies.

I would also be glad to speak to anyone who needs more information or has concerns about Nutrition and our school lunch program.

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Wellness Policy
In the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, the U.S. Congress established a new requirement for all local agencies with a federally funded National School Lunch Program.  All local school districts are required to develop and implement wellness policies by the start of the 2006-07 school year.  In response to this requirement, our school district formed a committee made up of parents, administration, faculty, and students to develop a wellness policy.

Click here to view our school district's current wellness policy and action plan.

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Nutritional Analysis
We have included a Nutritional Analysis of some common menu items. Parents can use the analysis of everyday favorites to help students make the best choices for a well balanced diet.  In addition, we complete an analysis of the specific menu written for Shorewood School District, and update this information monthly.  If you have additional questions regarding specific ingredients for menu items please contact the Food Service Office at 414-963-6914.

 

Menu Analysis

ELEMENTARY:
- This Month

- Next Month

SECONDARY:
- This Month

- Next Month

 

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Harvest of the Month

Month

Fruit

Vegetable

Herb/Legume

September
fruit Melons
vegetableHeirloomTomato
Basil
October
fruit Blueberries
vegetable Pumpkin
Split Peas
November
fruit Cranberries
vegetable Leeks

Sage

December
fruit Dates
vegetable Brussels Sprouts

Garbanzo Beans

January
fruit Blood Orange
vegetable Braising Greens

Thyme

February
fruit Papaya
vegetable Okra

Red Beans

March
fruit Coconut
vegetable Tomatillo

Cilantro

April
fruit Passion Fruit
vegetable Beets

Lentils

May
fruit Cherries
vegetable Spring Greens

Chives

June fruitStrawberries vegetableSnap Peas

Fava Beans

July fruitPlum vegetableSwiss Chard

Mint

August fruitPlantain vegetableSweet Peppers

Black Beans

 
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New Wellness Changes
  • Chocolate Milk offered only two days per week at Lake Bluff
  • Taher Regional Chef, Chris Oswald visits to Shorewood
  • Fruit and Vegetable Bars
  • Following the guidelines for Ala Carte Snacks and Beverages from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation when products are available
  • Using only Zero Trans Fat products
  • Beverages offered in smaller sizes
  • Introduced Whole Wheat Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns
  • Grab n Go Salads offered as alternative entrees
  • Changed milk choices to 1% white, 1% chocolate and skim
  • No additional salt available to students as a condiment
  • Salad dressings and mayonnaise are offered in packets of reduced fat varieties
  • Promoting Elementary Schools with Nutrition Tips
  • Nutrition boards promoting fad free snacking during Nutrition Month

 

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