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Banning Unified highlights "clean label" school meals and local farm partnerships
Summary
District nutrition director described a shift toward fresh, minimally processed "clean label" foods, taste tests with students (granola added to menus), and partnerships with local farmers; board members asked about measuring food waste and participation data.
Craig Pulsford, director of Nutrition Services, told the board the district is emphasizing "clean label" eating'foods that are minimally processed and served fresh'to improve students' nutrition and participation in school meals.
Pulsford described partnerships with two local farmers and a fresh-fruit-and-vegetable program at Hammerling Elementary where students tried rambutans as part of a tasting and nutrition-education activity. He said student taste tests inform menu decisions and cited one granola that tested well and has been added to parfait offerings across the district.
Pulsford argued higher-quality, fresher meals increase student participation, which in turn improves program funding and allows reinvestment in ingredients and nutrition efforts. He said the district has increased meal equivalents over the last four years and highlighted a cyclical funding effect: more meals raise program funding, which funds higher-quality foods, which draws more participants.
Board members asked whether waste has decreased; Pulsford said the district has not measured waste reduction comprehensively but has studied "share bin" initiatives and observed reused food by other students. He told trustees the department tracks site-level meal participation and could provide data broken down by meal type (breakfast, lunch, supper) on request.
No formal action was taken; trustees requested follow-up data on meal participation and waste metrics.
