"To start this is an area that I would like to take a deeper dive into with our district and make sure we are streamlined across all kitchens, but have not had the opportunity to take that deep dive yet.
For food that we serve from our kitchens we save everything we are able to. Many items can be cooled, frozen, and reheated. Fruits and vegetables we reuse what we are able to. There are some items that just do not freeze and reheat well, like pizza. In this scenario, we work with kitchens to batch cook and keep an eye on numbers as they go along.
Unfortunately, at this time the entree food items that go to the satellites (Sunset Hill, Birchview, Greenwood) is not saved. They save anything they can as far as Bento Boxes, fruits and vegetables go. This is another area on the list to take a closer look at as it is possible to save some entree items and does involve updating our current HACCP plan.
All cafeterias have some sort of share table/station concept. However, this is an area I would like to streamline and improve. At this time, we are looking into purchasing carts like these for cafeterias. Some cafeteria utilize their composting area for the share table and would like to provide a separate area for this.
Any food that we might have that won't hold over a long break, we do try and donate to a food bank. Recently, IOCP does not take produce/perishable items so the next closest food bank would the The Food Group in New Hope. I am also looking into utilizing an app called Meal Connect. You enter any food into this app and then Second Harvest Heartland comes and picks it up for you."
Is there an update on this? Do they have share stations at elementary schools? When I asked about a restricted diet I was told to teach my child what they can eat and to throw away the rest, which seems so wasteful since they would really only be able to eat the fruit & veggies (dairy free, egg free, and meat free diet).
ReplyDeleteWould you be willing to share which school you're at?
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