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Sherman ISD food service director outlines federal nutrition changes, meal counts and student feedback
Summary
Food service director Robert Rushing briefed trustees on federal meal nutrition standard updates effective July 1, district meal production totals year-to-date and results from a student/parent survey used to shape menu offerings and limited-time specials.
Robert Rushing, Sherman ISD food service director, told the board on May 20 that new federal nutrition rules taking effect July 1 will limit added sugar to no more than 10 percent of weekly calories, reduce sodium targets (10 percent reduction target for breakfast and 15 percent for lunch) and maintain a requirement that at least 80 percent of weekly grain offerings be whole-grain rich.
Rushing reported district meal production from July 1 through April 30: 1,276,813 total meals, including 498,434 breakfasts, 882,071 lunches, 6,747 snacks and 16,560 “suckers” (as counted in the district report). He said year-to-date client returns — funds the program uses for fixed equipment and repairs — were “just under $4,700,000.”
Rushing reviewed local menu efforts and limited-time offers (LTOs) created with local chefs and Aramark, the district’s food-service provider. Recent LTO items included corn chowder, pizza-waffle tacos, Cajun biscuits and gravy, and turkey-and-apple melts. He also said the district ran a student/parent feedback survey (March 31–April 18) to guide immediate and longer-term menu adjustments. Survey results included immediate-breakfast-change preferences (54 percent said menu choices) and longer-term items such as time-to-eat concerns.
An outgoing board member suggested piloting a radical menu change at one elementary campus to study any effects on discipline; staff responded that menu adjustments must be approved by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and that working with Aramark would require advance planning and budgeting. Staff said the menu-review committee for the year included students, teachers and parents and that committee membership can be adjusted annually.
Rushing said the district can create individualized diets for students with specific dietary needs and that staff periodically consult other districts for ideas and participation in Aramark competitions.
