Food, Nutrition, and SustainabilityInformation Gathering: Survey Results and School Comparison

Table of ContentsContext and Methodology...................................................................................................................................... 2

Considerations............................................................................................................................................................ 2

Next Steps..................................................................................................................................................................... 5

A Sustainable Cafeteria........................................................................................................................................... 5

Appendix........................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Survey Results Summary....................................................................................................................................... 9

Survey Graphs, Charts, and Detail...................................................................................................................11

McGillis Lunch Notes............................................................................................................................................. 23

Open Classroom Lunch Notes............................................................................................................................26

National Schools Research Notes.....................................................................................................................28

Two Angry Moms Film Screening Notes........................................................................................................31

Marin Academy Visit Notes................................................................................................................................ 33

Sample Guiding Principles Documents.........................................................................................................43

Resource List............................................................................................................................................................. 48

Response to Report from Mary Hill................................................................................................................49

Rowland Hall-St. Mark’s SchoolDecember 2008

Context and Methodology

In September of 2008, Rowland Hall retained a sustainability consultant to support school sustainability planning and implementation efforts. At this time, the administration asked the sustainability consultant to consider the school’s cafeterias as an opportunity for improving school sustainability. A group of Rowland Hall parents emerged from Sustainability Committee outreach efforts to form a sub-committee because of an expressed interest in this same area.

In the past few years, there have been many improvements made in lunch food quality, policies, and related sustainability efforts. The cafeteria recycling program, elimination of individual plastic water bottles and soda, increased use of local ingredients, efforts to reduce trans fats and processed foods are just a few of the important steps Rowland Hall has taken. Nevertheless, cafeteria-related issues have been the most frequent topic raised by parents in discussions with the sustainability consultant. In an effort to learn more about the potential for Rowland Hall’s cafeterias, our parent committee has engaged in the following information-gathering activities:

Completed school survey: Views and attitudes about food, nutrition, and sustainability were assessed through a survey, which was sent to all parents. There were 339 responses to the survey, representing 490 children (49% of student body) and 300 families (45% of Rowland Hall families).

Investigated local schools: Committee members visited the McGillis School and Open Classroom during lunchtime and interviewed the cafeteria staff about their food philosophy, operations, and recent changes to their menus.

Researched national schools: We visited, researched, and/or interviewed national schools that have been recognized for their food services: Marin Academy, Berkshire School, and The Seven Hills School. At these schools, food and nutrition are interwoven into the schools’ missions, visions, and values. They prioritize food and nutrition, have a clear understanding of the relationship between sustainability and food, and value the relationship between diversity and food.

Attended community events: Committee members attended a screening of Two Angry Moms, a film about school nutrition, a talk by Paul Roberts, author of The End of Food, and a Rowland Hall nutrition parenting class featuring guest speaker Julie Metos, RD.

Reviewed popular literature: Committee members read several relevant books such as Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, Ominivore’s Dilemna and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, and Lunch Lessons by Ann Cooper.

Considerations

Our committee recognizes that there are further steps to take in this process before recommendations can be made. For example, a deeper understanding of the school’s kitchen operations will be critical to recommending changes that strike an appropriate

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balance among sustainability, nutrition, efficiency, cost and other important concerns. Nevertheless, several themes emerged from the work completed so far, and our committee believes these themes may offer useful guidance for purposes of identifying and implementing the appropriate next steps in this process.

Healthy foodBased on survey responses, it is clear that health and nutrition are important to Rowland Hall families. 97% of parents responding to the survey agree that healthy food is a top priority. 85% indicated they value homemade meals and would like to limit processed foods. 90% would like to see lunch free of trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial additives. Many parents noted the “salad bar” and “fresh fruits and vegetables” as well as “healthy food” and “healthy options are available” as current cafeteria strengths. In terms of areas for improvement, parents most expressed a desired to “reduce processed foods, serve more homemade items” and “serve healthier food.” In addition, many Lincoln parents specifically advocated reducing the amount of high calorie and high fat snacks and “junk” food type items. Our community values the healthy aspects currently in place in our cafeterias and a majority would like to see them expanded.

Teaching nutrition and food topicsThere are opportunities in the lunch room, in the classroom, and at home to educate our children about nutrition and the effect of our food choices on our environment. 89% of survey respondents agree that it is important for students to learn where their food comes from and what it takes to produce food that is healthy for them and the environment. Increasing nutrition education was a top concern written into survey responses by both Lincoln and McCarthey parents. In addition, McCarthey parents expressed a desire for someone to help their child in selecting lunch foods and creating a balanced lunch. Seven Hills provides detailed dietary information on the menu for the daily selection and Berskhire School uses a red, yellow, and green light indicator on their menu and on signs in the food line to assist students in selecting a balanced meal.

Waste and composting88% of survey respondents agree that it is important that students learn about issues of waste, composting and nutrient cycling in relation to their daily meals. 78% believe the school should expand its composting program and limit waste that is sent to the landfill. At Marin Academy, all of the kitchen and food waste is composted, as well as the biodegradable napkins, and students are in charge of the compost.

Sustainable food practices78% of survey respondents agree that school lunch should feature local and organic ingredients when possible. 70% believe that meat, poultry, eggs and dairy served in school lunch should be free of hormones and antibiotics, and include free-range chicken and grass-fed beef. 65% support a daily vegetarian option. A review of other schools in the Green School Alliance show these schools emphasize the use of regional and organic ingredients when possible.

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Desserts47% of survey respondents believe desserts with school lunch should be limited, while 33% disagree with this statement (and 20% were neutral or expressed no opinion). The topic of dessert generated many write-in comments in the survey, and a wide variety of viewpoints were expressed. Survey comments reveal that the definition of what constitutes dessert varies from family to family. The other local schools we visited serve dessert very infrequently, once a month, at most. Because of the wide-ranging opinions on this subject, setting dessert guidelines for type served, frequency, and portion size, could benefit from a nutritionist’s expert advice.

PizzaThe frequency of pizza served, the quality of pizza served, and the expense and waste associated with bringing it in from an outside source, were topics of many write-in comments. RHSM parents clearly see this as an inconsistency in school nutrition and sustainability goals.

Time to eatThere were many survey respondents who commented that their student does not have enough time to eat, feels rushed, or spends too much time waiting in lunch lines. These ideas were expressed by approximately 16 McCarthey respondents and 5 Lincoln respondents. We observed a more relaxed lunch atmosphere at McGillis, where the students have a half hour for lunch and a 10 minute quiet period is in place at the beginning of the lunch period to encourage eating before socializing.

Account managementThe survey showed that many parents desire an online cafeteria account management system, where they can receive notifications and make payments electronically, as well as monitor balances and student purchases. By streamlining the invoice processing system, paper costs and waste as well as mailing costs could be saved. In addition, many Lincoln campus parents would like to see a non-cash debit card system put into place.

Drink optionsWhile 64% of lower school survey respondents agree that the water bottle program is working effectively, there were many write-in comments expressing concerns and troubles in their usage and the desire for water (as well as other drinks) to be served in the cafeteria. Serving both water and milk from a bulk source would further decrease plastic container usage and liquid food waste. We saw this work effectively at both Open Classroom and McGillis.

Lunch costAlthough 56% of parents answering the survey would be willing to pay more for an even higher quality school lunch, it is clear from survey comments that keeping the cost of lunch affordable is important to many families. Keeping the price of school lunch constant will allow for an atmosphere more accepting of any potential changes.

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Next Steps

The steps taken to date represent preliminary information-gathering steps that our parent committee was able to accomplish independently. We hope these initial findings can provide the school with a compelling reason to continue building upon the many improvements already made in the lunch programs, food policies, and the integration of sustainability concepts. We envision the following next steps:

Form a committee consisting of cafeteria and operations personnel, parents, teachers, students, school nurse, and perhaps outside “experts.”

Obtain a deeper understanding of current cafeteria ingredients and processes. The Two Angry Moms film featured a school that hired an outside consultant to perform this “auditing” step.

Formulate a Guiding Principles Document, setting forth Rowland Hall cafeteria values, guidelines, and goals. This document should be published and shared with the entire school community. See examples of these from Northfield Mt. Hermon School and Marin Academy in the Appendix.

Rework recipes, menus, policies, and processes as determined. The Two Angry Moms film recommended employing the temporary or part-time help of a local chef who could offer expertise in designing seasonal menus and sourcing local ingredients. This strategy was used at the Berkshire School and Seven Hills.

Increase the “food IQ” by educating our students and community about food, nutrition, and sustainability through classroom topics and community-wide events such as film screenings, guest speakers, and book reviews.

A Sustainable Cafeteria

In conclusion, when considering school lunch, we encourage Rowland Hall to “think big.” A comprehensive approach to the topics of food, nutrition, and sustainability includes the following components:

Students who understand the connection between healthy food, a healthy body, and a healthy environment.

Food, nutrition, and sustainability concepts integrated into the classroom and other school activities and operations.

A “scratch” kitchen offering menus prepared from fresh, seasonal ingredients (employing local and organic ingredients when reasonably possible)

A kitchen linked to our gardens and compost system A kitchen that is focused on limiting waste

A holistic approach, where nutrition, food issues, and school lunch are integral to the educational experience, is consistent with Rowland Hall’s goal of educating the whole child, and offers an immense opportunity for Rowland Hall in the following ways:

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Strengthens school values and supports strategic goalsRowland Hall encourages religious, ethnic, racial, and socio-economic diversity. Our cafeteria program can enhance diversity education, introducing children to world cultures by serving traditional foods tied into cultural holidays, festivals, and social study lessons in the classrooms.

Children who understand the connection between healthy food, a healthy body and a healthy environment can contribute toward bettering our world through more sustainable practices. Our school values integrity and responsibility, and the school’s food programs offer opportunities for students to embrace this philosophy by understanding the relationships between sustainable food practices and resource constraints.

A sustainable cafeteria could be a key component of integrating sustainability, diversity, and globalization into school programs, thereby supporting Rowland Hall’s strategic goal of offering an excellent academic program. It is also a way Rowland Hall can promote sustainable, healthy, balanced, and ethical life choices for our school community.

Provides health benefits for our childrenSurvey results show that health and nutrition are important to Rowland Hall families. Many survey respondents noted and applauded recent improvements in cafeteria policies and practices, and an even stronger commitment will enhance the nutritional quality of student lunches. Students fueled by superior nutrition will best be able to engage in the high quality educational experiences offered at Rowland Hall.

Enhances educational experienceThere are many educational opportunities provided by creating a sustainable cafeteria. At the core will be reinforcement of basic health and nutrition concepts. In addition, the cafeteria can be used as an organizing tool to teach about world cultures, healthy agricultural systems, the cycle of food from garden to table and back (compost), and the economic and environmental costs relating to food waste. Using sustainability as a connecting thread between school programs, the cafeteria experience can enhance science, social studies, and other classroom learning. By linking the kitchen to gardens and compost we can enable our students to connect the food at their lunch tables to the landscape outside.

Reduces waste and carbon footprintAccording to the Rowland Hall carbon footprint study recently completed, food waste comprises 77% of the school’s landfill and recycled waste. Improving the sustainability of our cafeteria presents us with an opportunity to address the economic and environmental costs relating to food waste. In addition, choosing locally grown and organic foods when feasible can help reduce fossil fuel use, which contributes to global climate change.

Creates a marketing edge and builds competitive advantageWe have seen how local schools, particularly McGillis and Open Classroom, use their school cafeterias as a marketing tool. In addition to referencing their scratch kitchens during the admissions process and the positive press coverage they have received, parents at these schools speak proudly of their school kitchens during informal gatherings. Rowland Hall

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can employ a similar marketing advantage through a more sustainable cafeteria, and further differentiate itself by fully integrating sustainability concepts throughout all aspects of the organization. Rowland Hall can build a long-term competitive advantage with a sustainable cafeteria as a key component of a sustainability program.

A sustainable cafeteria could be a showcase for Rowland Hall, not only in its commitment to sustainability, but also in its pursuit of excellence. Rowland Hall is a progressive and innovative educational institution and should adopt an approach to food of equal standard. Providing healthy food and food policies, as well as teaching children to make good food choices and about the impact of those choices, is crucial to sustaining our bodies and environment, and to educating the whole child.

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AppendixSurvey Results Summary

Survey Graphs, Charts, and Detail

Notes from The McGillis School Lunch Visit

Notes from Open Classroom Lunch Visit

National Schools Research Notes

Notes from Two Angry Moms Film Screening

Notes from Marin Academy Visit

Sample Guiding Principles Documents

Resource List

Response to Report from Mary Hill

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Survey Results Summary There were 339 survey responses, representing 490 children (49%) and 300

families (45%).

97% state that healthy food is a top priority.

56% are satisfied with the school cafeteria.

There were positive responses to most survey ideas, especially: Limiting trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor/color (90%) Student education and connection to food (88%) Food prepared from scratch/limiting processed food (85%) Composting program/limiting waste (78%) Incorporating local and organic items when possible (78%)

Top responses for program strengths were similar on both campuses: Variety, options, balance Fresh fruits and vegetables/salad bar Nutritious food, healthy options are available Students enjoy lunch, kid-friendly menu Program flexibility, convenience for parents Warm, helpful staff

Top responses for areas of improvement (McCarthey): Reduce processed foods, use more homemade items Reduce/limit desserts Allow more time/process rushed/stressful Serve healthier, more nutritious, better quality food Eliminate Pizza Hut, reduce pizza frequency Increase use of organic items Offer more vegetarian options

Top responses for areas for improvement (Lincoln): Offer healthier, more nutritious, better quality food Eliminate Pizza Hut, reduce pizza frequency Decrease/limit “junk” food, high fat/calorie snacks Reduce/limit desserts Offer more vegetarian/fresh fruit and vegetable options

45% of McCarthey responses and 40% of Lincoln responses purchase lunch at least half the month

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21% of McCarthey responses and 25% of Lincoln responses do not ever purchase lunch. Top reasons lunch is not purchased:

Prefers food from home/picky eater Dissatisfied with school lunch Likes to go off campus (Lincoln) Cost

Top “additional comments” were: Thank you for survey, for asking opinion, making this a priority Desserts are ok/allow in moderation, for special occasion, when healthy, etc. Appreciate lunch program, school’s effort, that hot lunch is available Student won’t eat school lunch/dislikes food (mostly Lincoln) Students should learn where food comes from, integration with curriculum,

see lunch as part of education (McCarthey)

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Survey Graphs, Charts, and Detail

(a) Healthy food is a top priority.

number of respondents

(b) It is important for students to learn where their food comes from and what it takes to produce food that is healthy for them and the environment.

number of respondents

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(c) It is important that students learn about issues of waste, composting, and nutrient cycling in relation to their daily meals.

number of respondents

(d) The school should have snack, birthday celebration, and class party policies which encourage healthy food items and limit sugar, fat, or dessert type items.

number of respondents

12

(e) It is important that school lunch feature items prepared from scratch, from whole ingredients, and limit pre-processed/packaged items.

number of respondents

(f) It is important that school lunch consist of foods free of trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, flavoring, colorings, and additives.

number of respondents

13

(g) It is important that meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy served in school lunch contain no hormones or antibiotics, and include free-range chicken and grass-fed beef.

number of respondents

(h) I feel desserts served with school lunch should be limited to special occasions or eliminated.

number of respondents

14

(i) It is important that a vegetarian option be served daily in the school cafeteria.

number of respondents

(j) The new water bottle program is working effectively for my child. (Lower School only)

number of respondents

15

(k) The school should expand its composting program and limit its waste that is sent to the landfill.

number of respondents

(l) It is important that school lunch feature locally sourced and organic foods when possible.

number of respondents

16

(m) Overall, I am satisfied with the school cafeteria.

number of respondents

(n) My student would purchase school lunch more often and/or I would be willing to pay more for lunch to receive an even higher quality lunch.

number of respondents

17

Summary of Responses to Survey Question 4 (all responses):Response

Count(a) Healthy food is a top priority. 75.0% (255) 22.1% (75) 2.4% (8) 0.6% (2) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 340

(b) It is important for students to learn where their food comes from and what it takes to produce food that is healthy for them

and the environment. 49.0% (167) 39.6% (135) 9.1% (31) 2.3% (8) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 341

(c) It is important that students learn about issues of waste, composting and nutrient cycling in relation to their daily meals. 49.1% (167) 38.5% (131) 9.7% (33) 2.4% (8) 0.3% (1) 0.0% (0) 340

(d) The school should have snack, birthday celebration, and class party polic ies which encourage healthy food items and

limit sugar, fat or dessert type items. 32.8% (112) 29.6% (101) 16.1% (55) 16.1% (55) 4.4% (15) 0.9% (3) 341(e) It is important that school lunch feature items prepared

from scratch, from whole ingredients and l imit pre-processed/packaged items. 52.7% (177) 32.7% (110) 11.0% (37) 3.6% (12) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 336

(f) It is important that school lunch consist of foods f ree of trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners,

flavoring, colorings, and additives. 63.9% (218) 26.4% (90) 7.6% (26) 2.1% (7) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 341(g) It is important that meat, poultry, eggs and dairy served in school lunch contain no hormones or antibiotics, and include

free-range chicken and grass-fed beef . 42.8% (146) 27.3% (93) 18.2% (62) 9.1% (31) 2.6% (9) 0.0% (0) 341(h) I feel desserts served with school lunch should be limited

to special occasions or eliminated. 22.9% (78) 23.8% (81) 20.5% (70) 24.3% (83) 8.5% (29) 0.0% (0) 341(i) It is important that a vegetarian option be served daily in

the school cafeteria. 30.8% (105) 34.6% (118) 29.3% (100) 3.5% (12) 1.2% (4) 0.6% (2) 341(j) The new water bottle program is working effectively for my

child. (Lower School only) 32.8% (75) 17.0% (39) 17.9% (41) 9.2% (21) 4.4% (10) 18.8% (43) 229(k) The school should expand its composting program and

limit its waste that is sent to the landfill. 42.8% (145) 35.1% (119) 18.6% (63) 1.8% (6) 0.6% (2) 1.2% (4) 339(l) It is important that school lunch feature locally sourced and

organic foods when possible. 39.8% (135) 37.8% (128) 18.3% (62) 2.7% (9) 1.2% (4) 0.3% (1) 339(m) Overall, I am satisf ied with the school cafeteria. 14.7% (48) 41.4% (135) 19.3% (63) 10.7% (35) 6.4% (21) 7.4% (24) 326

(n) My student would purchase school lunch more often and/or I would be will ing to pay more for lunch to receive an even

higher quality lunch. 26.6% (89) 29.0% (97) 25.4% (85) 11.4% (38) 4.2% (14) 3.3% (11) 334341

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Don't Know

answered questionskipped question

Stongly Agree Agree Neutral / No Opinion Disagree Strongly

Disagree

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Summary of responses to survey question 5: In your opinion, what are the strengths of the school lunch menus, policies, and operations?(108 responses)McCarthey Lincoln

35 variety, options, choices, broad selection, balance of healthy vs. "kid" food 29 variety, choices, selection, balance24 fresh fruits and/or vegetables/salad bar 12 fresh fruits/vegtables/salad bar17 kids like lunch, kid-friendly menu, appeals to kids, like going thru line 10 healthy food, nutritious, healthy options are available14 healthy food, nutritious, healthy options are available 8 flexibility (can purchase days wanted, no pre-order required), convenient for parents11 "good" program, high/good quality, general praise 7 wonderful, warm, responsive staff9 flexibility (can purchase days wanted), ease, convenient for parents 7 child enjoys lunch, likes food, can find something they like, no complaints9 friendly, helpful, hard-working cafeteria staff/monitors, open to suggestions 6 good price, low cost5 relatively/fairly healthy, better than most, not horrible, decent 5 no soft drink policy, removal of soft drink vending machines5 use of/noticed increase use of/appreciate local foods 5 approve of recent efforts to improve food quality (getting rid of soda, more veg options)5 appreciate/noticed schools (recent) efforts to improve quality, limit junk, trans fats 5 appreciate (hot) lunch is available5 menu provided in advance/descriptions/ posted on website 3 relatively/fairly healthy, better than most4 offers/appreciate less processed, more homemade items 3 good quality, well-prepared, general praise4 good school group snack, party policies - limit sweets, fat, sugar 3 a la carte items available4 organized and efficient (good system for getting kids in and out) 3 school is health conscious, aware of healthy trends4 praise for soup 2 use of less processed/homemade foods/items2 In-house operation (RHSM hired and overseen) 2 dessert is available2 vegetarian options are available 2 bread is homemade2 card "non-cash" system 2 menu is published2 good price 1 soups2 praise for sandwiches 1 accomodates food allergies2 recycling efforts 1 sandwich option2 parents can come to lunch 1 using vegtables from school garden2 praise for potato bar 1 less sugary desserts2 getting rid of water bottles 1 appreciate microwave availability2 creative 1 breakfast items available2 treat option, dessert is available 1 on site, in-house operation1 lunch bunch with principals 1 appreciate "green" initiatives1 holiday meal themes1 parenting education class nutrition topics1 veggies ("most") are grown in school garden1 milk easily on hand1 eating area is clean1 appreciate that there are no soft drinks1 encouragement to eat what is taken1 school encourages healthy eating1 accomodates food allergies1 appreciates microwave available1 child can take as long as want to eat

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Summary of responses to survey question 6: In your opinion, where can the school make improvements regarding lunch menus, policies, and operations?(193 responses)McCarthey Lincoln

18 reduce processed/packaged foods, use more homemade items 20 offer healthier, fresher food, more nutritious, more healthy choices, only healthy choices17 reduce dessert frequency, processed desserts, eliminate desserts, serve only healthy desserts etc 12 get rid of/limit pizza hut, don't offer pizza everyday16 process rushed/stressful, allow more time to eat, not enough time to eat, lines long 10 decrease/limit amount of junk food, fast food type items, high fat/cal snacks15 offer healthier, more nutritious, better quality food, more healthy options 9 limit desserts (only for special occassions, should be homemade, serve healthy desserts, eliminate)10 offer more organic items, as organic as possible 8 offer more vegetarian/ fresh fruit and vegetable options10 offer more vegetarian options 7 increase use of local foods10 eliminate Pizza Hut, reduce pizza frequency 6 improve taste9 focus on reducing waste (smaller portions, food prep, garbage, compost) 6 offer lunch debit card (non-cash) system8 increase use of local foods 6 provide online account management, notification, pay, check balance and student purchases7 wish cafeteria staff would help child make better food selection, not allow kids to only take dessert 5 too little time to eat, too rushed, takes too long to get through line, allow more time6 increase nutrition education (how to best fuel body,etc) 5 reduce processed/packaged foods, use more whole homemade foods6 reduce price, too expensive, charge only for what is taken (more a la carte items) 5 provide more nutrition education (best foods to fuel body, portion size, glycemic index, etc)6 account issues: email, online access to check balance, purchases, pay, consolidate billing, tone down

letter5 make food more palatable for kids, kid-friendly, simple, creative (toothpicks, fewer spices, tax junk food,

discount veggies)5 limit choices (choices overwhelming, too many, less is more) 4 eliminate sugary, sport drinks5 eliminate/decrease HFCS 4 limit white flour, promote whole grains, whole wheat rolls, use only whole wheat bread5 offer organic/hormone free meat 4 focus on limiting waste, composting, encourage zero-waste home lunches4 offer organic/hormone free milk 4 offer better daily sandwich options (a la Great Harvest, Subway turkey subs, bread options)4 situate salad and fruit first, as part of line, not off to side 4 increase use of organic foods3 change up menu - don't repeat same menu each month, year, pasta every Wed is repetitive 3 improve appearance of dining hall (depressing, dungeon)3 offer fewer sugary items 3 more "organized system" , staggered, rather than all grades at once, (6th period is too crowded)3 find a balance between improvements (local, org) and cost, palatability for kids 3 offer more variety, options3 microwave issues: takes too long, items are overheated, not hot enough, allow 4th/5ths to do selves 3 ask students their opinion3 allow sweets for birthdays and special occasions 3 ensure food is fresh and replenished throughout lunch service (runs out)3 overhaul the menu, improve on all survey points 3 overhaul the menu/kitchen, improve on all survey points3 offer cups of water, water bottle is forgotten 3 provide high schoolers area free of MS to socialize, own time to eat, go outside, hallways3 offer more drink options: soy milk, juice, chocolate milk, water 3 stock healthy drink options: offer juice, soy milk and chocolate milk2 eliminate trans fats 3 cost concerns (lower prices for a la carte items, lower price for scholarship kids, lower pizza prices2 improve taste 2 offer better menu description2 less cookies, tater tots, chips, snack type food 2 offer breakfast options2 eliminate preservatives, artificial stuff 2 takes too long to use microwave, overheating of items2 better sandwich choices - sandwich bar, prepackaged sandwiches are not appealing, wasteful 2 eliminate trans fats1 better enforcement of group snack policy (even on holidays) 2 allow to eat in hallways, or commons - kids are busy and need to eat on the go1 could Beginning school students purchase food? 2 find a balance between improvements (local, org), cost, food preferences1 too many limitations on what BS student can take for lunch 2 allow parents to eat with children (parents not allowed in), have parents eat the food1 serve more fruit choices 2 make menu more interesting (items repeated too often, have "daily special")1 send kitchen staff for training (healthier, vegetarian, ethnic) 1 better communicate lunch policies (email, faqs)1 impose noise ordinance 1 fix vending machines (often don't work and little selection) - offer diet coke1 whole wheat hamburger buns 1 implement school garden1 better communicate lunch policies, values, guidelines (email, faqs) 1 eliminate, decrease HFCS1 offer breakfast options 1 don't police what children eat- children are educated, let them make choice1 sometimes not enough food, can older kids get more food? 1 menu should be seasonal1 respect restrictions (hala, kosher) 1 reduce choices, too many choices1 implement school garden connected to cafeteria with kids involved 1 minimize sauces on dishes1 better control of peanut items or items processed in a nut facility 1 eliminate vending machines1 don't charge everyone for milk (included in lunch price this year) 1 do not allow smoking near kitchen1 use less meat 1 allow more time between snack and lunch (too close, child comes home hungry)1 kids complain about taste of bread 1 limit off campus to encourage eating on site1 eliminate of corn/ hot dogs 1 turn caf into profit center - allow parents to purchase healthy dinners to go1 breaded chicken patties should be all white meat 1 too noisy

1 name brand would appeal to kids (Chipolte, Jamba Juice)

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Summary of responses to survey question 8: Please share any other comments:(139 responses)McCarthey Lincoln

12 grateful for survey, thank you for making this a priority, survey is valuable, thank you for asking 11 allow desserts, desserts are ok in moderation, for special occasion, birthdays10 appreciate the program, that hot lunch is available, effort put into the lunch program 9 student won't eat school lunch/dislikes food/hates school lunch10 desserts are ok every once in awhile, on special occasion, for birthdays 5 prefer to go off campus (a special priviledge)6 learn and appreciate where food comes from, more integration of food/nutrition topics with

cirriculum4 school's job is to educate (on nutrition) not limit choices or control food

5 food issues are central to educating "whole" child, see lunch time as teaching tool and part of education

4 thank you for survey, thank you for asking opinion

4 we should have the highest quality lunch which matches Utah's best, innovative, forward-thinking, educational institution

4 keep cost same

4 would pay extra for better food 3 sanitation concerns (silverware not clean, health code violations)4 waste is big issue for our family, amt. trash is shocking, Pizza shipped in, encourage waste-free

home lunches3 questions cost, benefits of "unproven", trendy nutritional improvements

4 desserts are ok as long as they are healthy, homemade and limited portion size 3 survey not neutral, school is going overboard, survey ideas are not practical3 minimizing sugar/HFCS is very important to me 2 appreciate school's effort3 inconsistent "healthy" snack policy (recess snacks must be healthy, but desserts are served in lunch

room)2 inconsistency in what school teaches and policies (students watch super size me, but eat

Pizza Hut in caf)2 nut/chocolate policy is inconsistent (can't bring for playground snacks, but served in caf) 2 not as many healthy options, not as good as McCarthey2 kids don't want/won't eat school lunch 1 our family values local foods2 recognize the challenge (in feeding so many, varying tastes, change happens slowly) 1 keeping transfats out of diet is the highest priority for our family2 keeping transfats out of diet is a high priority for our family 1 implement indoor worm composting2 our family most values organic food 1 our family most values organic food, limiting processed foods and HFCS2 wonderful to be part of a school that cares so much about the environment 1 healthy food is cruicial to development - should be reflected in school food and education2 frustration with water bottle program - pose a health threat, inconsistent policy that school offers

milk in plastic jugs, why not water?1 contact Chartwells at U of U (focus on sustainability)

2 our family values local foods, local produce is great idea 1 look into Cooking Light school lunch program2 limiting processed foods, cooking from scratch is a priority for our family 1 party policies should be guidelines1 wish there was more variety 1 continue to strive for the best for our children1 don't overmonitor since child has learned to make good food choices from BS and now uses them 1 hire chef to design menus - Marguerite Henderson may be a resource

1 don't raise lunch price 1 too much emphasis on food causes eating disorders1 composting without attracting rodents is a challenge, think through vacation staffing before

implementing1 BS snack/treat policy too rigid1 Jessica Metz, RD Director at IMC/IHC would be a great resource for RHSM1 ask student their opinions, allow them input1 very disappointed in lunch room food (undoing what we are trying to do at home)1 lunch is one meal and lunch room should reflect the broad and variable needs and beliefs of all

families, home is main source of food education

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Summary of responses to survey question 3: Approximately how many days a month does your child purchase school lunch?(336 responses)

McCarthey Lincoln% # Frequency % # Frequency

21% 48 Zero days 25% 57 Zero days17% 39 1-4 days 17% 40 1-4 days18% 42 5-10 days 19% 43 5-10 days7% 16 11-15 days 9% 20 11-15 days38% 89 16-20 days 31% 72 16-20 days

234 232

Summary of responses to survey question 7: If your child does not regularly purchase school lunch, please briefly describe the reason(s) why.(181 responses)

McCarthey Lincoln24 Prefers food from home/picky eater 34 Prefers food from home/picky eater16 Dissatisfied with school lunch 17 Dissatisfied with school lunch14 Cost 17 Likes to go off campus for lunch13 Child too young/half-day student 14 Cost5 Lack of time/long lines 2 Lack of time/long lines3 Vegetarian 1 Allergies2 Likes to mix it up1 Allergies

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McGillis Lunch NotesOn 11/4/08, committee members observed lunch at McGillis.

Kitchen staff:  Director is Bridget Gill.  There is a total staff of three including her.  During lunch time, one person serves the hot table, one person serves the cold table, and one person is a “floater.” 

Volume: They serve about 375 lunches a day (faculty and students), which is 92% of the students/faculty.

Selection:  There is generally one hot entrée per day.  There is also an offering of side salads/dishes (1-2), vegetables, and fruit (1 choice) on the cold table.  The kids can also get either a PBJ or cheese sandwich (these were pre-bagged as half sandwiches).   Milk or water to drink.

Menu:  Today the hot table was grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup (homemade).  The cold table had lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion, carrots, celery, small whole apples, wild brown rice salad with apples and cranberries, and a cous cous salad with carrots, and asparagus (these looked delicious!).  In place of these cold salads, they will also sometimes serve cheese sticks, cottage cheese or yogurt.  The cold table will vary depending on what is served as the hot entrée.  For instance, when they serve pancakes as the hot entrée, the sides will be berries, syrup, whipped cream, etc.  There is generally only one fruit choice.  Three salad dressings:  balsamic vinaigrette (homemade), ranch, and Italian.  They view meat as a condiment and serve it sparingly due to adherence to kosher guidelines.  We have other sample monthly menus in our files.

Side salads were made ahead of time (last night).  16 loaves of PBJ were made this morning (all whole wheat bread). Soup is offered one time a week as an entrée.  Potato Bar is offered once a month or so. Mondays are pasta days and they always have the option of “plain” pasta for the younger kids.

Flow:  The menu is posted in line for kids to view before food is served.  The hot table is first, then the cold table.  The students indicate what they would like – they never touch the food or serve themselves.  The kids are served food on a sturdy paper plate.  After they get their food, they cross the hall to the eating area, picking up utensils (stainless steel) and napkins (paper) on the way.  They set their plates down at round tables and then get their drinks (milk or water) which are self serve out of orange coolers using paper cups.  The coolers are chilled before hand and the staff adds to it as the liquid is consumed.  The coolers stay cold for 6 hours.

There are 4 discrete shifts, each get about 30 minutes.Starting at 11:10, 1st graders

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Then 2nd/3rd gradersThen 3rd/4th/5th

Then middle school (6th, 7th, 8th)Lunch ends at 1:15

Price: There is no register because lunch is bought upfront at the beginning of the year, all or nothing, at $560/year.  Using an estimate of 170 lunch days a year, we calculated a rough estimate of $3.30 per lunch.

Desserts: The rarely serve desserts.  Maybe once a month and it is a “really good” homemade from-scratch dessert.

Younger students:First graders are given “special treatment” – their own lunch period, a little longer to eat, soup was served inside the eating room rather than at hot table so they didn’t have to carry it as far, ten minutes of silence at the beginning to encourage eating, and more overall direction on choosing items for plate, encouraging to try things, would you like more, etc. 

Clean up:The older kids (second and above) are excused by class except one class who is on clean up duty (push in chairs, wipe tables, and sweep up floor) after every shift – the clean up took under a minute to do.  There is a wet waste bucket, shallow silver ware tray, and trash buckets.  Paper plates are not recycled due to food particles, but are a type of plate made from recycled material that easily biodegrades.

The kids wipe their own spills (there were two that we saw).  We noted that the lunch room set up and line flow is not ideal (food is located in different room than where you eat, multiple pick up areas (utensils in hallway, drinks in eating room), eating room is crowded, chairs backing into each other, etc), but even so kids were able to navigate this and not spill their lunches.

Waste:  Liquid waste was not even a standard cleaning pail. Solid waste was mostly from plates and cups (not a lot of food thrown away that we saw) was estimated to be 4-5 big bins per day. The kids are encouraged and trained to estimate and take what they want of the hot entrée upfront.  If they are still hungry, they are allowed to go back for seconds on the vegetables and sides.  The staff has found that if they give seconds on the entrée it ends up in the trash.

Atmosphere: Overall lunch seemed more “civilized” – less noisy, calmer, and the kids seemed to have more time to eat, go back and get seconds, etc.  Though we still saw kids munching their lunch in the trash line.

Communication: There were a lot of communication/coaching/announcements: “Raise your hand if you liked the soup?”  “Five more minutes to eat.”  “Did you try

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this?” Assistant Teachers/Room aids eat with the kids (usually 3 or so per shift) and help quiet things, make announcements, etc.

Student input: At the end of the food line, there was a big piece of butcher block paper with pencils and the question “What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods?”  This is a way for the kids to have input into their lunch experience.  We also saw up on the wall the results to a previous question, “What is your favorite vegetable?”

Other observations: There was a peanut free table at the front of the room.  Older children have table assignments which rotate on a monthly basis. Kids bring 1-2 snacks from home to eat throughout the day.

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Open Classroom Lunch NotesOn 10/27/08, committee members ate lunch at the Open Classroom where we met with Tree and Val Hammel.  Here are our notes and observations:

Kitchen staff:  1 full time person, 2 part time people, 0-4 parent volunteers on any given day.  During the meal, 1-2 adults serve, 1 person works the register, and one person pours drinks.

Price: Lunch is $3.50, billed to family account.

Volume: They serve about 170 lunches a day, which is approx. half the student body.

Selection:  There is one “buildable” choice offered each day.  There is always a vegetarian option, sometimes there is a meat option.  (They estimate about 25% of those who take lunch are vegetarian). They offer a fruit and veggie bar every day with various choices. Milk or Filtered Water to drink. (They go through 5 gallons of milk a day).

Menu:  Today was taco salad, which was a bean base with tortilla chips.  Cheese optional.  At the salad bar (at child’s level), there were lettuce, tomatoes, olives, slice peppers, grated carrots, plus two fruits (sliced apples, and halved bananas).  Dressings were at the end of the salad bar. 

Here are more examples of menu items from last week:Tues. - Soup & MeltsWed. - SpaghettiThurs. - Baked Potato Bar (can be Gluten Free or Vegan)Fri. - Weebadoobies (these are whole wheat rolls with mozzarella cheese baked inside, served with marinara dipping sauce

They make their own pizza from Nicholas Cracked Wheat dough.Dessert is rarely served, occasionally something like a homemade bread pudding.

The students seemed to eat up the food enthusiastically.  We asked if there had been problems around only offering one option and Tree and Val said it really is not a problem.  The kids learn to adapt and learn to try new things.  Last year, they offered a bagel as a second choice, but decided to discontinue doing that because it was the same children who were always asking for the bagel and not learning to try new things.

Flow:  The main dish is served in the kitchen, the kids come out to the salad bar area, which they manage themselves.  They give their name to the person sitting at the

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end of the salad bar.  Milk and/or water was poured from a pitcher by an adult into kid sized cups and ready for kids to take at the end of the line.  The kids pick up their drink, napkin and utensils before finding a seat. The kids get 15 minutes to eat lunch before being dismissed out to recess.  There are four 15 minutes shifts starting at 11:30.

Waste: Very little waste from the kitchen, mostly metal cans and gallon milk jugs, which are recycled – reducing waste is a high priority.  Waste from kids is about ½ a large garbage bin daily.  They don’t compost (yet), but some food waste is given to families to feed chickens, turtles, etc.

Other ideas: Tree and Val suggested to us to obtain a food handler’s permit and offer to

help out in the kitchen as a way of finding out what kind of foods are used and also to understand the challenges in the kitchen.

They have found serving coffee to the adults is a good revenue generator for the lunch room.

At Open Classroom, parents are encouraged to come in a cook their “specialty” for lunch.  This has been a way for them to introduce world foods into the menu.

Open Classroom also did a world feast day last year where the kids were served a basic rice and beans to replicate how most of the world eats.  This was tied into education in the classroom that day.

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National Schools Research NotesThe purpose of this section is two-fold: first, to describe in general terms the role of food and nutrition at independent schools across the country; and second, to describe in specific terms, what type of food comparison schools are serving and what type of nutrition initiatives comparison schools are implementing.

General ObservationsWe examined the role of nutrition/food at schools listed as members of the Green School Alliance. Here are our observations:

High quality, organic, healthy food is a top priority. Food and nutrition are interwoven into the schools’ missions, visions, and

values. The value of nutritious, organic food is an important component of the

schools’ sustainability program. There is a strong relationship between diversity and food; because the

schools value a diverse student body and embrace a variety of diversity initiatives, they also value and embrace foods that are often associated with different cultures.

The majority of these schools have chefs. Many of these schools—while impressive—are still working toward their

food/nutrition goals.

The Seven Hills SchoolThe Seven Hills School serves as an excellent direct comparison example for Rowland Hall because it is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational school serving students in grades PK to 12. It is located on two campuses, and describes itself as providing “an education of superior quality in a college preparatory program which emphasizes academic excellence, individual expression and development, and service to school and community.” The model employed by Seven Hills, specifically, in terms of how it manages food and nutrition, serves as an example that Rowland Hall should strive toward.

For Seven Hills School, nutrition is a clear priority. One example of this is their daily cafeteria offerings which include the following:

Baked potato Bagel Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread and flaxseed bread Cheese slices and string cheese Hard boiled eggs Fresh fruits Milk, soy milk, fruit juice, and water Yogurt and applesauce

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Salad bar

The Main Menu items served at Seven Hills School include, but are not limited to, the following (all served with milk):

Moroccan Meatballs w/ Vegetable Couscous, Flat Bread, Fruit Bow Thai Veggie Noodles w/ Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing, Fruit Turkey Chili Con Carne w/ Rice, Salad, Fruit Veggie Pasta w/ Salad, Garlic Bread Stick, Fruit Lemon-sage Tilapia w/ Vegetable, Fruit Pasta w/ Basil-garlic Sauce and Peas w/ Salad, Rosemary Bread Stick, Fruit Garlic-parmesan Chicken Breast w/ Vegetable, Whole Grain Roll, Fruit French Bread Cheese Pizza w/ Salad, Chocolate Pudding, Fruit Roasted Herb Chicken Breast w/ Vegetable, Fruit Organic All Beef Hot Dog or Veggie Dog w/ Braised Sauerkraut, Veggie,

Fruit

Interestingly, at Seven Hills School, natural and organic snacks are available for students throughout the day, specifically from 7:30am to 3:50pm. These include:

Fresh baked scones Oatmeal, granola, and cereals Healthy snacks including pop corn, baked chips, and pretzels

One of the important characteristics of the menu is the dietary information breakdown that accompanies each item. This breakdown includes: serving size, calories, fat, carbs, protein, and fiber. For example, under Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Breast, it reads:

Serving Size: 1 Calories: 280 Fat: 12 grams Carbs: 15 grams Protein: 28 grams Fiber: 2 grams

The Berkshire School

The Berkshire School is a private, co-ed, boarding school located in Sheffield, MA. Although the Berkshire School does not represent a direct comparison school (because it is a boarding school), it does represent an institution that prioritizes nutrition. Two items that we want to highlight are the Sage Spotlight Program and a clear Dining Services mission statement.

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First, the Berkshire School uses the Sage Spotlight Program. The purpose of this program is to help students make nutritious selections at meal times. Foods are labeled based on whether they are very healthy (green spotlight), somewhat healthy (yellow spotlight), or not very healthy (red spotlight).

According to the Sage Spotlight Program:GREEN spotlight foods are a great way to add color to your plate. Students are encouraged to choose more green spotlight foods for healthy meals and snacks. YELLOW spotlight foods will most likely make up the bulk of a student's diet. Supplementing yellow light choices with many green light choices is encouraged.RED spotlight foods are foods that are typically high in fat, calories, and sugar. The recommendation for these types of food is consuming only a few servings per week.

This program uses educational materials to convey a healthy eating message. Signs on the serving line include a green, yellow, or red dot next to the food item being served. Menus are labeled with green, yellow, or red dots next to each of the daily choices. Additional posters and literature are available in the dining hall for educating the students and parents.

Second, the Berkshire School has a clear Dining Services mission statement. It reads:

SAGE Dining Services stays on track with Berkshire School’s commitment to diversity and education by offering our students, faculty, and friends meals which are healthy, diverse, and made with the finest of care. Our menus are written with the New England region in mind, allowing for local items and regional favorites wherever possible. With an abundant salad bar, an overflowing fresh fruit station, and daily special additions, there is always something for even the most discriminating diners. Our monthly nutritional seasoning programs enhance our community’s awareness of lesser known food items, and even add to the knowledge of food that is around them every day.

To summarize, as Rowland Hall moves forward with its strategic plan, we can learn an incredible amount from schools that are prioritizing food and nutrition, have a clear understanding of the relationship between sustainability and food, and that respect and value the relationship between diversity and food.

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Two Angry Moms Film Screening NotesOn 10/16/08, committee members attended a screening of Two Angry Moms (about improving school lunches) at the Leonardo hosted by the SLC Film Center with a discussion afterwards lead by the film’s director Amy Kalafa.

Key Points:To get people to care and to make changes, it is important to increase the “food IQ” among parents, teachers, children, etc.

There is a clear link between the quality of children’s health and the quality and quantity of children’s food.  Obesity is only one symptom (film showed increasing rates of allergies, asthma, ADD, diabetes – many more kids needing health specialists and medications).

It’s not about the cupcakes!  It’s about getting real food into school meals, not the occasional cupcake.

Meadow Pond Elementary in Westchester, NY http://klwellness.weebly.com/

Yale Sustainable Food Project under the direction of Alice Waters:  quality over quantityhttp://yalesustainablefoodproject.wordpress.com/

The Type A government lunch was established by the USDA to promote US Agriculture, not necessarily look out for the health of our children – these are old standards.

With across the board school cuts, food/cafeteria is now viewed as a revenue stream – there is a need for “competitive” foods.  The knee jerk reaction to this was to add more choices, but then to stay on budget, schools need easy to serve, processed, ready to eat options.  In schools, we don’t have unhealthy “reading” so why have unhealthy food choices just for the sake of offering “choices.”

One school featured in the film had faculty assigned to eat with kids at each table.  Drinks in pitchers and reusable cups were in the center of each table.  The faculty helped coach the kids on how much drink to pour.  The school actually saved money on milk (consumed less) while increasing the quality (going to organic).

Another school featured showed the success of a fresh fruit and salad bar using all local produce.  The food tastes better and the kids embraced it.  The salad bar was assembled in appropriately cut portions for kids to handle and was at child’s height.

The money you spend on good food is less money you spend on healthcare.  In the US, we spend 10% of our income on food, but 17% on healthcare.  In Europe, 17% is spent on food and only 10% on healthcare.

Marion Nestle  http://www.foodpolitics.com/

Public schools are now required to adopt a “Wellness Policy.”

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All day approach to healthy eating (snacks, parties) – kitchen is part of the curriculum and kids are in the kitchen as part of learning, kids as well as faculty are actively involved in food service.

Berkeley Unified School District:  engages the kids in cooking and serving.  They set the table, do the dishes, pick the ingredients from garden.http://www.berkeley.net/gardens-cooking-2/

Ann Cooper – “renegade chef” in Berkeley Public Schools.  http://www.lunchlessons.org/index.html

Conval, NH – 100% kid designed meals – the children plan the menus

Steps to change your school kitchen:Step 1:  Form a CommitteeStep 2:  Survey your school community on food valuesStep 3:  Visit the school cafeteria to audit the ingredients used.  In the film, the school hired

an outside food consultant to conduct this process.Step 4: Read the school’s food contracts, write a Wellness Policy and change the contractsStep 5:  Market your new program – education of parents, kids, faculty, administrators

We need to see school lunch as an education issue.

During discussion after film, the following resources were shared: Filming took place during 2005-2006 school year.

Salt Lake City Public Schools (Luanne) has a Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Program

Taggae’s (local produce supplier) is supplying food to Open Classroom.

Encouraging the hiring of a chef to run school kitchens as chefs generally have more experience in the procurement and sourcing of local, fresh ingredients.

Geothermal growers in ID offer year round gardens in cold climatesAntonia Demas in Baltimore:  Food is Elementary Program

http://www.jhsph.edu/clf/meet_the_people/notes_frm_field/food_ele_2008.html

Frances Moore and Anna Lappe and The Small Planet Institute:

http://www.smallplanet.org/

Greenhouse grants available – look at Farm to School http://www.farmtoschool.org/ and National Gardening Association http://www.garden.org/home

There are farm to school grants available from the Chez Panisse Foundation

Late Bloomin' Heirlooms, LLC

Patricia Messer (801) 568-1035

8103 Old Bingham Hwy West Jordan, UT 84088

latebloominheirlooms@q.com

Two other interesting films to see:The Future of Food  http://www.thefutureoffood.com/Food Matters  http://www.foodmatters.tv/

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Marin Academy Visit NotesNotes from Visit to Marin County SchoolsSylvia Torti

Below are my notes from the visit to Marin Academy in San Rafael, CA. 10/10 and the Green Your Schools fair at San Domenico (K-12) on Saturday 10/11. I have also been in contact with Marin Country Day School (K-8th) but they were closed on Friday. I did meet some students who had attended Marin Country Day up to 8th grade at the Conference. I chose to visit these schools because they are largely day schools (Domenico has some high school students who board), have been working on sustainability for a number of years, and seemed to have a good deal of interaction and coordination with one another.

MA is in the middle of town—an urban school, with a relatively small campus. 400 students. 9-12.

San Domenico is a K-12 school (co-ed through 8th grade, only girls in high school) on a 500 acre campus 15 minutes away. They have approximately 600-700 students, also a day school. These 2 schools represent the extremes in campus size and urban versus rural.

Here are some summary reflections. More detailed conversations and notes follow below.

Landscape/EnvironmentThese schools are completely integrated into their environment. They all use 100% natural landscape. They all have gardens and composting systems. They see the land and ecology as teachers and are committed to trying to integrate those concepts into their learning.

Kitchen, Garden and a Committed TrusteeClearly, at MA, they have benefitted greatly by the expertise, vision and financial support from one trustee in particular. This woman’s interest (as well as her children’s interest) motivated faculty, students and then the board to re-think how the school is run, particularly with respect to the kitchen. (The school, I should say, also has had Nature as Teacher as a “directive” from the beginning). After hearing everyone rave about the kitchen all morning, I was becoming increasingly suspicious. Could it really be that good? 350 people is a lot to serve, etc. I have to say, the food was absolutely fantastic—the menu for the day was: baked chicken, baked, breaded tofu, sautéed chard, mashed acorn squash with red onions, sautéed (and still crunchy) green beans, steamed artichokes with basil-garlic mayonnaise, whole-grained rice. All of the food is composted, as well as the biodegradable napkins. Students are in charge of the compost.

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MA sees food as being central to their well-being and treatment of the earth and so they’ve focused on food, the garden and composting and have used these quite effectively to compliment and broaden their educational opportunities (see below for specific examples). I can and will talk in more depth about this process with those interested in the cafeteria, how I was told they went from an “institutional-type cafeteria” to a healthy café.

That said, the school still has a way to go on energy use, issues of transportation and paper (see below).

I think they are at the forefront in their thinking about sustainability and their understanding (as faculty, students and board) for what this means and they have a clearly defined vision for this. Everyone I spoke to articulated (in slightly different ways) the same vision and commitment. Sustainability is not something “extra” that the school does, but fundamentally integrated into everything the school does—from operations, strategic planning, accounting, to the curriculum.

What I think RHSM can learn from MA—how to transform a kitchen into a more sustainable system, and how to integrate/expand a garden and implement composting (for end goals of education, reduction of waste, etc.).

We can also learn about how they educated themselves and the community—perhaps replicating what they did with outside speakers (see below). Again and again, people spoke to the power of bringing in an expert for a teacher/administrator workshop and to present to the board. Also, the power of educating one another at faculty meetings.

I think our US students can learn directly from the MA students. I’ve brought back material and am speaking with the Environs Club as well as Rob Wilson about this. I also received invitations for our students to go out during the Green Festival (March) or the Teens for Healthy Schools conference (February). What impressed me about these students was 1) their interest and commitment to actively making their schools a better, healthier place; 2) their ability to articulate why this was important and how they saw it fitting in with their future lives; 3) their initiative—a lot of what they’ve done is because a couple of students “just did it”.

The Green Your Schools Conference at San Domenico (a 500 acre campus, all naturally landscaped. They have a 1 acre garden, and will put in an extensive solar field this year) was also really good. This conference (12:00-5:30pm on a Saturday) was entirely organized by high school students (and directed by a high school senior, with help from sustainability directors at her school and the other schools). I have materials from this if anyone is interested. There were concurrent adult and student workshops and panel discussions. The cost was $15 for adults and $10 for students and a really good lunch was included (the lavender ice tea was disgusting). We ate in the garden sitting on hay bales and put our biodegradable paper plates directly into the compost. Students defined the workshops—(e.g. 1) Conscious

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Consumerism; 2) We are What we Eat; 3) Teens for Healthy Schools; 4) GreEnergy; 5) Earth Activism; 6) Composting: Garbage to Gold; and for adults: 1) Permaculture; 2) Schooling for Sustainability; 3) Sustainability in the Curriculum—focus on Biomimicry; 4) Community Resources-Marin County. There was spill-over though, in that both adults and students attended some of the same workshops.

Again, I think that in a year or so, RHSM students might be in a position to organize a similar conference and invite the community at large. Please see below for much more detail.

Marin Academy8:05-9:00 Mark Stefanski. Biology teacher, Thoreau Chair (sustainability director). Tour of school, garden and composting system

About 4 years ago, some students took a “dumpy” area of campus and began turning it into a garden. Now it is quite nice—about 1500-2000 square foot area.

The door to garden designed and decorated by art class Structure: Raised beds with soil produced from compost. Irrigation system.

Bee hives in garden off to side. Produces all herbs that the kitchen needs. Kitchen gave list to students

&gardener as to what to plant. Requires communication between chef and garden. One student’s responsibility is to communicate needs.

All lettuce, greens, chards come from garden; Tomatillos-green salsa. Some other ingredients, but of course, garden can’t feed 350 people every day.

Garden Club-students involved in planting and harvesting. Arthur, the master gardener (position paid by trustee for 3 years) is club head. Oversees garden; Helps students to plan, work, harvest, etc. Helps direct Senior Projects when necessary. Approximately 20 hours per week. (There is no reason why RHSM can’t do something along these lines. A garden offers so many opportunities. RH would need someone 20 hours per week from March-October-7months. $20/hour= $400/week= $1600/month=$11,2000/year. I imagine you might also find an environmental studies student from the U for less money, but clearly you need consistency. Mark says this person should have some educational background, understand gardening (in a profound way) but also have some experience working with students and helping integrate it into curriculum with teachers.

Club (and Freshman biology class) is researching compost in 4 experimental beds: Treatments: 1) No compost (CA soil), 2) Wildcat compost (produced by school), 3) High N mix (purchased) and 4) Turkey manure-based (donated). This compost goes into 1 bed each and then they plant broccoli, beets, and tomatoes to see effect.

Club students work in garden 2X/week after school.

9th grade biology class- (100 students). Uses garden for some of classes. Some lectures in garden, hands-on composting where they learn about the Carbon

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Cycle and the Nitrogen Cycle. March-May these students spend a few hours/week in garden.

Small solar fountain in the works (designed by students as a senior project). Will be used to discuss solar energy harvest by plants versus solar energy harvested by silicon cells

Statistics class is analyzing results from garden study. Senior Project options: Senior students spend last 4 weeks of senior year in

an “internship-type elective”. Students who have chosen to do their internship in the garden have done the following: These projects are over-seen by the master gardener.1) Built outdoor kitchen 2) Designed and built (mortar and all) raised herb bed3) Designed and built stone patio with chairs that can be used for classes andrelaxation4) Solar fountain

Compost bins: approximately 300 sq feet at MA (200 square feet at San Domenico). Built from wasted/ broken up concrete pieces that had been at site. Poured cement over these pieces to produce structure. Series of above ground wooden bins with vents at different levels (bins approx 4 feet high), lids that open (made of wood with hinge) and front vented slats that can be removed for turning. Black tarp on top to raise temperature.

Another compost pile for large waste from cuttings on campus, leaves, etc. Just sort of sits there (but must be a way to make it go faster)

Compost soil produced by making sandwiches of the following: INDORE method1) Green waste from cafeteria (student separate out meet from veggies), scraped into a green bin in the café. Paper napkins are type that can be put in composter2) Straw (cellulose/carbon)3) Nitrogen source (horse manure works well, bat guano)4) Inoculation (from other compost pile: bacteria, etc.)

Compost Angels: students who identified themselves as such, announced it to all school assembly and asked for volunteers to take compost up from café. (It’s quite a hike—garbage can walk up the hill). They have had no trouble getting volunteers. “It’s fun.” 2 student volunteer/day and they usually sign up for a month at a time: e.g. Cara and Julie do it every Monday in October. It takes them 15-20 min. They provide training for new volunteers. I think that RHSM US students interested in a garden club could do this at the McCarthey campus after school.

I was also told that at Marin Country Day School (K-8th grade), even the small children take out the compost bins…the really small kids ride to their compost bin on tricycles (with compost behind).

This compost is used in garden and then, for the Green Fair, students packaged into bags that they decorated (old rice bags) and sold it at Green Fair. Sold 150 pounds and raised $1500, which they used to build raised bed

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at another school just 2 miles away that is underserved (where students already go to tutor).

At MA: idea that Nature as Teacher has always been a part of the school. Thoreau Chair-endowed by trustee. 25% time for a teacher to have a reduced

teaching load (Mark Stefanski does it now; 3 year term that can be renewed) “Build space and people will come” Mark—they have invited other teachers

to use the garden. Art classes draw there when appropriate, hold Spanish and other language classes there to learn vocabulary, music at times, etc.

9:00-9:20 Meet with Travis Brownley, Head of school (and Mark) Travi’s Comments and “Advice”

Need to shine spotlight on successes. School is full of optimism and goodwill. Make Sustainability fun (e.g. Eco-

Pirates…a faculty member and a few students who periodically dress up as pirates and run to classrooms around saying ARRRR (reduce, reuse, recycle)

Education of faculty by faculty- one faculty member gave a “short presentation” about the energy it takes to produce and recycle a can of coke (which he drank at faculty meeting—idea being education of one’s own community first).

Great value of bringing in expert, such as David Orr, or someone from EcoLiteracy , or someone in Salt Lake who carries weight. This person should present to the board/trustees and also offer a workshop for teachers and staff who are interested.

Power of book, such as Michael Pollen’s book. Have school read it, or organize voluntary discussions around it (Mary Slocum had this same idea….for the spring. A “book club” that meets 4-5 times during the school year for an hour in the morning (or at lunch) to discuss provocative books and help us think in new ways)

Inconvenient Truth slide show presenter could also be good. To be effective at sustainability, there is the requirement to stand back and

say stop. Are we going to make it stop? We can! Pacing at MA allows for this? 80 min blocks, rotating schedule. 3 classes on

“A” days + assembly and 4 classes on “D” day. The elimination of AP and the more focus on interdisciplinary brings greater intentionality to student learning. More depth in each class. More inquiry and project-based learning.

There must be a shift to looking at real cost of “life” as we know it. Requires long-range thinking, future-thinking. Up front cost expenditure. The greening of the economy will happen. It will also take imagination.

MA just now undergoing comprehensive energy audit. They will evaluate entire campus. This came about in response to student proposal for solar (see below).

MA feels like it’s on the cutting edge. Sense of discovery, excitement (and at times can be exhausting).

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9:25-10:00. Liz Gottlieb: Environmental science teacher and Mentor for EcoAction Group (All teachers at MA teach 4 classes plus do 2 services; she does EcoAction group as one of her services)

Meets 1x/week for students at lunch. Usually 15-25 students attend per week. This year 50 students showed up to first lunch.

She supports and helps to focus their ideas. Largely student-initiated. Could be done for MS and US at RHSM. Could the Sustainability Person take over this role, or help Rob once a week lunch with Environs? (2 hours per week).

What she does is help them turn attention inward. What can we do better individually and as a group? Tries to impress upon them that they are not in a position to go out and tell the rest of the world until they have implemented it themselves (often she says, the urge for young students is to “teach others” rather than changing self).

They’ve created a blog for themselves. Last year: Green Festival in springtime (How about sending 2 RH students this

year? They can be hosted by MA students). March 12th

For the Assembly, they had Michael Pollen present (RHSM could get a local person—to do an assembly). After the assembly, they had an extended lunch period (a picnic) on the soccer field. The event was wrapped into the day. Completely student designed. Each student took on a “project” or “booth” and they ranged from educational to hands-on activities. For example, canvas bags you decorate yourself, seed balls made with native seeds and compost (you throw them out in nature and they break and sprout), selling of compost in student-decorated rice bags(to raise money for raised vegetable beds at nearby underserved school), hemp bracelets. One student collected plastic from a couple of homes over 5 weeks and brought it all in as an educational tool (a huge pile of plastic). Electronic waste drive by one student. People brought clothes and “sold” them and the rest were donated.

Liz’s role is to say, “Make it happen, and How can I help?”

This year’s Green Festival is on March 12th. RHSM students could go out for that (I’d recommend that a sophomore or junior go so that what they learn might be brought back to enrich school).

This year at MA the club will do two projects: a fall project and a spring projectFall project: Teens for health schools initiative (I have material on this and Rob’s sustainability class may be able to use it)Spring project: Green Fair

Her advice: Things do flop. Just keep trying. How do you get students to follow-through? Not everything will be implemented. Club aspect helps.

How she does it in the classroom. In classroom for her environmental class, she has 2 sections and the 2 sections will debate each other at an all-school

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assembly before the Nov 4 election. One section will represent McCain’s environmental platform and the other, Obama’s. They must research candidates position, learn to articulate them and then the debate is an all-school assembly in front of the rest of the students and faculty. She is teaching about energy (all forms from solar, wind, water, nuclear and coal) through this activity.

In Classroom: she sets structure. This year, for example, for environmental science, they are taking 6 separate trips to pull invasive species in an area. From this, they have to produce a 7 minute video to tell people what invasives are and the implication of invasive species. They get to decide the lens through which they tell this, e.g., they can focus on a person who has worked on invasives for 20 years, or a student or from the plant’s perspective (this is where they get to use their personal “creativity” and helps with buy-in). One video for each class.

Recommendations: Bring David Orr or another person (Fritjof Capra) who is a leader in this area to come and do half day teacher training and a presentation to the board.

You need 1/3 of faculty to become fully engaged, committed

10:00-10:20 Mike Joyce, Chief Financial OfficerFinancial sustainability

MA is in process of writing new strategic plan and sustainability will be a big part of this. Sustainability will both compete with and compliment other needs at the school.

They are also starting on a comprehensive energy audit, which is a result of a student petition to the board. Students (with the help of the Eco-Council) petitioned the Board to make the school use only renewable energy and “demanded” solar panels be put on the school. This petition was taken seriously by the board and 3 months later, the board responded with a decision not to pursue solar, but to actually step back and take a larger view—realized school needed to know first how much energy it was using and second, embrace a campaign to reduce energy use through conservation and efficiency. Finally, once they’ve reduced energy consumption as much as possible, they will invest heavily in solar (and wind) to make themselves “neutral”. (I have copies of these documents)

The garden is not yet financially sustainable. Begun with support from a trustee. This is now a transition year to decide how to fund the part-time gardener.

Sustainability has succeeded because of support from parent body. The current economy offers and opportunity for sustainability. Provides a

new lens to take a hard look at how we use resources. Example of investment in sustainability: They have replaced their very large

soccer fields with fake turf. Cost $600,000, but $30,000 came from water district and they are saving $10,000/year in water alone.

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10:25-10:45 Joe Harvey, Academic Dean (and History Teacher) Faculty was ahead of the board, although many on board are fully committed

now Meets regularly with Mark, Thoreau Chair, to discuss possibilities,

integration with teaching, place-based courses as much as possible. Interdisciplinary courses. For example, has been teaching a class on Golden Gate—as a location—literature, history. Was easy to integrate a sustainability/ecology aspect into this course.

Curricular work that he does: you need to take something off the plate to make this happen. If science courses are all tied up in AP tests then it is difficult.

Need to have an expert with authority, such as a David Orr-type person, speak to the school.

Need to constantly question: What is education for? Constant review: did we get it right? Where will it fit? How will it fit?

11:00-12:00 Meet with Mimi Buckley, Marin Academy Parent and Trustee Mimi’s son began sustainability at MA when he and a few friends “covertly”

began to convert a dumpy area of campus into a garden. They just did it; they didn’t ask for permission. At same time, Mimi got on board at exact moment when the new building was going up and realized it wasn’t sustainable. There was no kitchen. She, along with interested students and faculty, spear-headed program at MA. Successes:

Complete overhaul of cafeteria to a “café” that serves healthy, locally-produced, almost all organic food. Cost of lunch is $6.50.

Eco-council that is active and effective. Began with three-prong focus of Garden, Energy and Recycling. For students, process must be active. Not theoretical. They must be allowed to effect change through projects, actions. Student Green Fair sold compost and earned $1500 to construct raised beds at an underserved Latina school in town. Now they have a sister school

She also spoke about petition presented to board for solar. She said that the board took it seriously and their way of working is to “Thank, Think and Create”. They will now do 1) Audit; 2) Reduce (people need to get their act together first); 3) renewable for what is left. Also, waiting will allow them to put on a more technologically advanced system. Be aware before you dive in to any technology so that you can know what’s coming—they have a solar expert on board who suggests they wait.

In order for sustainability to succeed it must come from the school, must be part of the school’s identity and she sees her role as having been a catalyst in this, both in ideology, but also financial support. She and her husband have financially supported the part-time gardener (3 year start-up); they’ve endowed the Thoreau Chair (25% position for a faculty member that runs in 3 year terms); they helped pay the architects who worked on the kitchen redesign.

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She educated board, faculty and administration about food and the need for a sustainable café. She helped to interview candidates for the position of chef (who oversees the menu) and head cook (daily implementation), but she did not attend the meeting when the committee made the hiring decision.

Her recommendations to a school like RHSM with a lower and upper school: Start with the Lower School. Look at the demographics of parents and their interests.

Engage faculty to help educate other faculty. For example, Mike Joyce, the CFO, once brought stacks of paper to an assembly (and also to a board meeting) and talked about how many “days” of paper that represented. Talked about cost of paper in terms of $ and also in terms of environmental cost. Not preachy—just faculty teaching other faculty.

MAPA (parents of MA) Marjorie Wint is head of this and they’ve put everything on-line so that it is very easy (and paperless) to work with other parents at school.

12:00-1:20: Lunch with student representatives from Eco-Council and Eco-Action Club

Students were motivated and articulate about why they do what they do. They are definitely seeing the world through a sustainability lens. One student is interested in fashion as a career and had done an internship last summer in New York City. She came back with the motivation to implement sustainability into the fashion industry. Other students are more interested in eco-justice issues. Some in ecology/science.

Compost Angels—announced themselves to the school and have recruited helpers. Have had no trouble keeping it going. They are very proud of their composting program. They gave a presentation at the Green Your School Conference about composting and talked about the science of it (breakdown chemistry) as well as how to build a system and helped the audience trouble shoot starting a program at their schools.

My impression of the students at MA is that they are very action oriented. They seem to like “taking on” issues, making their school a better place. There was a lot of optimism and enthusiasm. A need to “do”.

1:20-2:00: Kim Martin, Director of Community Action There are a number of ways that Community Action and Sustainability

overlap CARE: Community Action Responsibility Emphasis—some students chose to

do this and some of those choose work in sustainability. Science dept: strong in service learning and in garden Most faculty are committed to sustainability. For example, Liz Gottlieb gave a

small presentation at faculty meeting about how she is moving toward a paperless classroom and gave tips on how to do it.

School is involved in a program that rewards faculty and staff for taking “alternative” transportation. For example, Kim rides her bikes, enters the fact

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in a database whenever she rides and at the end of the year, she gets a large gift certificate

Mini-course in February. A week-long course. The freshman options are all based around sustainability (students choose from a catalogue). For example, one option from last year was “From Garden to Table” Students spent the week exploring farms in West Marin County, agricultural practices, family owned farms, and then they followed the food to the market and to restaurants, etc.

Capstone Program. 8-10 days for all Juniors in Spring. They break up into groups and take a look at “The State of the Bay”. How equitable and just is society for different members? Different groups look at transportation, housing, environment (including fresh food availability), education and employment. Each group gives a grade to that area. They look through the lenses of sustainability and race/ethnicity when giving grades. Students also looked at propositions coming on the ballot and then lead a discussion at an Eco-Council meeting.

It is a very project-oriented school. (As an aside, my impression is that students really are used to thinking and organizing and presenting their work. I saw this in the Green Your Schools Conference, where students were completely responsible for running workshops).

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Sample Guiding Principles Documents

Rethinking the Kitchen: Proposed Guidelines for an Integrated and Sustainable

Food Service at Marin Academy

Developed by the Rethinking the Kitchen subcommittee of the Eco-Council: Susan Adams, Anayansi Aranda-Yee, Alex Nourafshan, Anna Bischoff, Sylvia Lindsteadt, Mikayla McVey, Mimi Buckley and Mark Stefanski

Originally Established October 23, 2006; Revised March 8, 2007

Eating with the fullest pleasure — pleasure, that is, that does not depend on ignorance — is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world. In this pleasure we experience and celebrate our dependence and our gratitude, for we are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we cannot comprehend.

- Wendell Berry

Statement of Purpose:The purpose of Marin Academy’s Café is to promote a healthy, sustainable relationship with food. Through integrating into the life of the school nutrition education, garden experiences, composting, and the purchase, preparation, and consumption of nutritious food, the MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, strives to help establish and sustain life-long healthy eating habits for every member of our community.

Proposed Guidelines:Acknowledging the constraints posed by availability, manageability, and expense, we propose that the following guidelines be implemented to the greatest extent possible:

In order to help create an environment that best promotes teaching and learning, the MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that a sustainable food program is available to every student and staff member in our community at an affordable cost. The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that nutrition education, garden experiences, composting, and the purchase, preparation, and consumption of nutritious food are integrated into the curricular and co-curricular life of the school.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that the nutritional value of the food served significantly improves upon USDA Dietary Guidelines by using nutritious, fresh, tasty, locally grown and raised ingredients.

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The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that the food served is “made-from-scratch,” avoiding pre-packaged, processed foods.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, strives to serve food that is organic, as defined by the USDA National Organic Program.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that some of the ingredients for the food served is harvested from the MA garden.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that the food served provides community members with choices that reflect the Marin Academy community’s cultural diversity.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, strives to achieve “zero waste” by reducing use, reusing, recycling, and composting.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, purchases ingredients from local sustainable purveyors.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, eliminates vending machines that serve pre-packaged, processed foods and sodas.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, eliminates potentially harmful food additives and processes, including hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, bovine growth hormone, antibiotics, and genetically modified food.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that the meat, poultry, eggs and dairy served contain no hormones or antibiotics, and includes free-range chicken and grass-fed beef.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that the seafood it serves meets the “best choices” standards set by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, strives to purchase Fair Trade Certified coffee, chocolate, tea, and fresh fruit (see www.FairTradeCertified.org).The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures that employees are paid a living wage and provided benefits.The MA Café, in partnership with the wider MA community, ensures the use of National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) approved, state-of-the-art energy saving equipment.

Links to the Seven Practices:

The purpose of the Kitchen and the proposed guidelines for instituting and sustaining it are closely linked to the Seven Practices that form an essential piece of our school’s philosophy. Although all seven practices are supported by the proposed guidelines, four in particular stand out:-The Practice of Perspective (developing social, environmental and global awareness that fosters an understanding of one’s place in a sustainable world) is supported by encouraging our community to take on a new lens for understanding our place in a sustainable world: our relationship with food.-The Practice of Responsibility (accepting ownership of one’s actions and one’s role in the well-being of the community) is supported by affirming the essential

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responsibility each of us has for promoting healthy nutrition, care for the health of the community, and stewardship of the Earth.- The Practice of Balance (exhibiting balance, reflection and contemplation in all endeavors) is supported by promoting a conscious and intentional relationship with food.-The Practice of Mind (embracing curiosity, creativity and passion for a life of learning) is supported by promoting systems thinking while challenging everyone in the community to strive for a deep intellectual understanding of what it means to possess a sustainable relationship with food.

When you understand where your food comes from, you look at the world in an entirely different way. I think that if you really start caring about the world in this way, you see opportunities everywhere. Wherever I am, I'm always looking to see what's edible in the landscape. Now I see Nature not just as a source of spiritual inspiration — beautiful sunsets and purple mountains majesties — but as the source of my physical nourishment. And I've come to realize that I'm totally dependent on it, in all its beauty and richness, and that my survival depends on it.

- Alice Waters

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Northfield Mount Hermon SchoolPRACTICES IN PLACE1. NMH dining services has committed to the following goals:a. reducing the energy used to get products to our community;b. raising awareness of the importance of local, sustainable agriculture and business;c. striving to identify who is responsible for our food, where it comes from, how our land is used, and how corporate farming has had an impact on local agriculture.d. becoming 100 percent trans-fat free by modifying the menu and changing purchasing practices to ensure trans-fat free food for our community;e. purchasing only fair-trade coffee.2. Ten percent of our annual food budget is purchased locally. This has involved:a. developing business relationships,b. creating systems of accounting, andc. overcoming delivery challenges.3. Dining Services has developed an herb garden outside Alumni Hall to promote use of fresh herbs and spices and so students can see the garden as part of the food production process.4. Used Frialator oil from Alumni Hall is processed into fuel that was used for a student’s car and an NMH tractor.5. Awareness of food waste is encouraged in our dining facilities by monitoring food and beverage waste at the dishroom drop-off area. This is monitored several times per year, and the results are posted to the NMH community.6. NMH uses these farm products in the dining hall: maple syrup, fresh-pressed apple cider, squash, asparagus, raspberries and jams, and dairy products (cheese, milk, cream, and yogurt).7. Estimates of the food waste generated by our dining hall are:a. pre-consumer waste, controlled by our kitchen staff: 8 percent;b. post-consumer waste, including all liquids and solids deposited at the dishwashing room: 18 percent.VISION1. The NMH farm will double the current amount of produce provided to the dining hall each year. (Appendix G)2. NMH farm operations will be expanded to include rolling greenhouses, turkeys, and sheep.3. The NMH community will recognize the importance of being self-sufficient, and most community members willselect locally grown products when given the option in the dining hall because of their appreciation for and understanding of sustainable agriculture.4. Twenty-five percent of the annual dining services budget will be dedicated to purchasing locally-grown foods.5. We will cut pre-consumer and post-consumer waste estimates by 50 percent.ACTION STEPS1. Educational programs and improved signage in the dining hall will raise consciousness and awareness about where our food comes from (e.g.: “These oranges have traveled 1,350 miles from Vero Beach, FL, to be a part of your breakfast fare this morning.”), and how much CO2 is generated by its production and transportation.2. Menus will be based on seasonal fare. The dining services recipe database will be expanded to take full advantage of products that are available during each season.3. Community garden plots will be available for NMH faculty and staff at the NMH farm.

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4. The NMH farm“kitchen building” will be heated using methane from compost pile or Frialator oil.5. Four times per year, special meals made from sustainable, local, and NMH farm products will support local agriculture and raise awareness.6. Farm visibility will be increased through better signage, both at the farm and where items are served in Alumni Hall.7. Light-block milk bottles will be used with farm milk to preserve freshness and quality.8. The NMH farm will undertake large-scale yogurt production to better utilize farm dairy products.9. Student eco-leaders will take on an educational role in the dining hall, educating the community about food waste,monitoring the dining room, analyzing energy use, and increasing recycling awareness for dining services.20 NMH SUSTAINABILITY AUDIT, 2007

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Resource List

The following is a list of potential resources suggested to this committee through the survey and individual emails.

Meriwether Godsey (Guilford College) Chartwell food services at the U of U, Reggie Conerly,

reggie.conerly@food.utah.edu, manager/director Marguerite Henderson, local chef Cooking Light school lunch program Jessica Metz, RD IMC, IHC Director Stacie Wing-Gaia, PhD, RD, CD, University of Utah, 801.585.9623- Rowmark

Nutrition Guidelines Sodexho

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Response to Report from Mary Hill

I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the Sustainability Survey and understand the concerns of the parents. It is our goal as a cafeteria staff to try and offer the best quality of healthy food and service, combined with the principle of sustainability. I appreciate the time and effort that went into this research. I commit my crew and myself to strive to do our best to incorporate these suggestions and work with the committee.

I will try to answer briefly some of your questions and explore the possibilities of accepting new challenges. Many of the suggestions listed in the results of the school survey and school comparisons have been adopted.

We have probably not communicated effectively the many changes in service and product that we have implemented over the past several years and so, will try to do so in what follows and to the parent body in general.

Healthy Food

In response to the survey questions 6, 7,8,9,10,12,15,16,17, and Considerations,75%-80% of the items we serve are made from scratch. All the main choices, with the exceptions of chicken nuggets, chicken patties, (trans fat free), all natural beef hot dogs, and veggie and chicken egg rolls. We will improve on these items in the future. Sealed sandwiches, homemade soups and salads are made fresh daily. Snacks at the high school all fall under the suggestion of Julie Metos, the Registered Dietician the school hired some time ago, as having less than 30 calories from fat. The only artificial coloring that I am aware of currently is in our children’s yogurt. This is another item we hope to replace. Our meats are all natural and come locally from Tooele. They are certified organic. A homemade vegetarian choice is served daily in both cafeterias. Our vegetables are mostly organic, being grown by Markon Co. Our local food distributor is Nicholas Co. We use vegetables from the RHSM garden when in season.Survey question 18. We strive to offer a variety of foods. We welcome recipes or suggestions for culturally diverse foods. We asked for recipes from parents once and tried Mrs. Garcia’s burrito. It was definitely a success at the high school. We would gladly welcome any new, healthy menus items.

Teaching nutrition and food topics

Pertaining to survey questions 1, 2, and 3, I feel it is very important that children be educated on nutrition and making good food choices for a healthy life time. It has been a desire that I create a daily poster and let them know what a healthy choice in each menu is, but I have failed to find the time. I feel this is a wonderful idea and would be interested in ways I might do this and I welcome assistance

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with it. I also feel that I could improve in communicating through the menu, what is organic, natural, whole wheat, and homemade. We strive to post the menu on the board in front of the serving line daily. We could include in this the items that are needed to make a total healthy lunch, including the food groups. We strive to serve daily the guideline requirements set by the Government Food standard in accordance with food groups and size proportions.

Waste and composting

Currently we are not composting. We welcome the idea of students and parents help in this part of sustainability. We do have very little waste from the kitchen. We generally just have large cans that are placed in a recyclable garbage can. If there is any left over food, it is reserved as a choice the next day or it is transported to the Upper School to be sold as a healthy snack choice. We also have a sharing table that allows children to share it with others rather than waste. The larger issue, of course, is student waste in the garbage. I would love to see the school compost but I don’t currently have the staff or budget to do so.

Sustainable food Practices

This is answered under Healthy food above.

Desserts

Survey question 11 on desserts. We offer homemade desserts twice a week. They are created from recipes low in or contain no saturated fat. We offer as some of these desserts pre-packaged 100 calorie Oreos, and Chip Ahoy Chocolate chip cookies, which are kid friendly and healthy. These are offered very sparingly. A low fat ice cream, sorbet or sherbet is offered once a month as a dessert choice. All of these are in single serving size.

Pizza

Pizza is all natural with home made sauce with no high fructose corn syrup, with all natural pepperoni and all natural sausage with no artificial preservatives. We are now offering an all grain crust. The normal crust contains .5 grams of fat. Pizza is served twice a month at McCarthey with 50-60 more children choosing to eat. Pizza is offered daily at Lincoln. Currently we are trying to hire another person on staff to help create more menu items that the children may choose from with the possibility of in the future eliminating some days of serving pizza.

Time to eat

This is a principal’s decision

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Account Management

Currently we are unable to add the Cafeteria balance to the main billing. There is only a billing letter sent when a child’s account is in arrears. This could be prevented if payments would be made ahead of time as asked. (Our annual letter asks that payments be made in advance and the monthly amount needed is sent to every home.) Balances and the child’s lunch activity can be sent or emailed upon request at any time. Currently it is necessary that the US use cash when purchasing because of the difficulty of collecting from McCarthey parents. We have found it challenging to collect balances from the families at the lower school where the amount charged is fixed everyday and do not have the staffing to bill the Lincoln street students whose daily charges vary greatly. We are aware of a system that could be implanted into the US, but this is a costly system, would require more staff and require a longer lunch period due to slower moving lines. We have concluded that having students “pay as they eat” is a quicker, less costly and more sustainable process for now. But we are currently looking into a new system that might make this possible.

Drink Options

At the McCarthey Campus, it is possible to serve milk and water from a dispensable container where the children could fill reusable plastic cups in the future. To implement this there would have to be an increase in time for my staff and is therefore, a budgeting concern. It now takes an extra ½ hour daily to wash the soup bowls and small plates and cups used in the beginning school.I have researched the possibility of this at the beginning of the year with Nicholas and they do have a system and container for dispersing milk. I believe it comes in a recyclable plastic bag, which would help in not disposing plastic gallon containers in the garbage and would serve as a better sanitary way of serving. I will look into this further.

Lunch cost

This is determined by Kevin Hanson, the account manager. He determines the lunch price by the budget.

As per requested a few years ago, under the suggestion of Alan, I contacted Seven Hills School and many others. I received copies of their menus and guidelines. I also sent for the cookbook by Paul Stitt, who helped in the inspiration of the Seven Hills program. Some of these ideas have been implemented into our program with the best of our ability, equipment, staff, budget, and seasonal food produced.

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I think the committee has a wonderful idea to get the students enthused and excited about contributing to sustainability with making right choices and eliminating waste.

After viewing the notes of the McGillis School, and the open class program, I feel that we excel in our program. All of our choices are healthy and made daily. The Salt Lake District experimented and found that there is less food waste if the children make choices of food. The idea of education is great. Educating a child on making right choices could stay with them a lifetime. As I sit at the end of the lunch line, I try and make sure each child has a balanced lunch. There is always room for new exciting ways of improvement. Your committee has gone to great lengths. Even the idea of a suggestion box for the children would be a wonderful addition.

Thank you for all the hard work the committee has done. This memo is my desire to share some practices that are already in place. I welcome committee members to visit our kitchen and explore how our foods are prepared to have a better understanding and to work with me to implement those suggestions which we can in order to improve our food service.

Thank you,

Mary Hill

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