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New food-service director introduces kitchen garden, composting plan and rising meal participation
Summary
Shannon McGee, the district’s new food-service director, described a growing indoor kitchen garden, plans for composting and menu experiments; staff reported an increase in meals served between November and December.
Shannon McGee, the Brentwood School District’s new food-service director, told trustees on Tuesday she is building a hands-on kitchen garden and pursuing composting and outreach to boost student participation in school meals.
McGee showed photos and described two tiered indoor grow racks in the school kitchen that are producing lettuce, herbs and other seedlings; she said students were already sampling fresh lettuce cut from the racks. McGee said the racks were acquired from another district and repurposed for the school kitchen.
She described “Try It Tuesday” menu trials and a brief Super Monday menu for staff lunches, and said she will run trials for items such as turkey and gravy over biscuits and chicken teriyaki to see which items gain traction with students. McGee said the district served more meals in December than in November, reporting an increase of 221 lunches between those months and 48 breakfasts in December; she said she will track the numbers further.
McGee also raised composting as a near-term option for vegetable and food waste. Board members and staff discussed options including keeping a small compost bin near the kitchen, arranging for regular pickup so compost does not attract rodents, and finding volunteers or a contracted service to remove collected food waste. Several trustees suggested the program could connect to classroom STEM and after-school clubs.
Trustees and staff praised McGee’s early outreach to families and school staff; a parent at the meeting said her fourth-grade son buys lunch every day and is “very happy with lunch.” McGee said she will share program materials with teachers to support classroom connections and described plans for modest pilot events and a district-wide wellness toolkit.
Why it matters: School meal participation affects nutrition, student engagement and school food-service revenues; composting and on-site gardens are also used to support food education and reduce waste.
What’s next: McGee will continue menu trials, collect participation data, and coordinate with teachers and the wellness committee on nutrition education tools.
