Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Brentwood Food Service Reports New Menu Items and Growing Participation; Hot-breakfast Rollout Cited as Logistical Challenge
Loading...
Summary
School food service manager Beth Sather reported menu additions (empanadas, pupusas, teriyaki bowls, halal options), operational changes (online ordering, monthly menus, snack lines) and rising participation — roughly 23,000 meals districtwide per day — while noting equipment and freezer constraints for hot breakfast expansion.
Beth Sather, the district's school food service manager, told the Board of Education on Nov. 6 that the district has added multiple new menu items, improved operations and is serving significantly more meals than in prior years.
Sather listed new offerings added this year, including chicken-and-cheese empanadas, bean-and-cheese pupusas with plantains, a burrito bar and walking-taco options, chicken teriyaki bowls, new halal items and vegetarian alternatives. "Chicken and cheese empanadas, a big hit," she said.
Operational changes include a shift from a weekly to a monthly posted menu with calorie and allergen information, online ordering for cooks to manage inventory and produce rotation, reopened snack lines at middle and high schools, a new electronic catering menu and regular lead-cook meetings to maintain continuity when staff are absent.
Sather reported notable growth in participation. The freshman campus serves about 1,000 lunches a day, and the district as a whole is serving roughly 23,000 meals per day between breakfast and lunch. "We're serving more meals, which is so great," she said, and set district targets to reach 13,000 lunches and over 10,000 breakfasts.
On hot breakfast, Sather said the district currently prepares cold grab-and-go breakfasts the day before and that moving to hot breakfasts would require hot-holding equipment in 19 kitchens, additional staff and revised schedules. She noted limited freezer space in district facilities and said the district warehouse is expected to add freezer capacity.
Board members repeatedly praised food service staff for the increased offerings and the department's responsiveness; several members described serving on the line themselves and thanked staff for their work. No board action was taken; the update was presented for information and discussion.
