Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aramark topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Aramark: menus follow USDA standards; popular items will be added via five-week cycles
Summary
Aramark’s representative told the district’s town hall that menus follow United States Department of Agriculture standards, described daily meal components, and said the vendor uses participation data and a roughly five-week cycle to add popular items.
At the town hall, Aramark representative Mr. Nick Eaton said the company provides no-cost breakfast and lunch "according to the nutritional standards of the United States Department of Agriculture," and described menu components and nutrient targets.
Eaton said daily breakfast includes fruit, whole grains and milk, while lunch includes vegetables, fruit, milk, meat and grains. He told the panel that the company employs chefs and nutritionists to design menus and that the vendor examines daily participation metrics to refine offerings. "We examine feedback from the students and student participation every day," Eaton said.
The panel said menu cycles typically run about five weeks. "Our menu cycles typically 5 weeks," Eaton said, and added that high-school menu experiments that are popular can filter down to lower grades. Staff and Aramark said a short feedback loop will allow the district to drop items that do not perform and expand ones that do.
