Recommendations

Make school meals look & taste good.

A suggestion that came up consistently was adding more seasonings to the food, or at least having a seasoning section in the lunch line so kids can add them. “I feel like a lot of the food could be good if it had just seasoning on it. Like something as small as pepper or something. Seasoning do play a big part in food.” The participants shared it is important to incorporate a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. “I’d say always having like a big variety of vegetables always like always switching it out and not having the same thing every single day so it wouldn’t get repetitive like change it up a little bit and like the same thing with fruits.” Collecting advice and information via surveys, for example, from students at the school would be useful. “They just put it on a plate but we don’t get to pick, and that’s why we don’t eat it, because that’s not what we want.”

Offer foods that reflect the cultural traditions of the students they serve.

Schools should consider incorporating nutritious foods from diverse cultures. Cultural foods are important because they help us to maintain a sense of connection to our cultures, which is especially important for Students of Color. “They have stir fry sometimes or whatever but still tastes like school lunch food, there’s no soul in it at all. It’s gross, it’s just bland, boring.”

Provide hands-on education.

Nutrition and cooking education can be helpful if it increases awareness about the impact of unhealthy foods on the body and teaches hands-on skills through activities such as cooking classes and taste-testing of healthy foods and vegetables. “It’s kind of the person’s learning style too. Like, I’m hands-on. So if it’s something where you can do experiments or something, that’d be cool.”