NutriStudents K-12 takes much of the work out of menu planning and recordkeeping for its clients. Foodservice directors can be assured the menus, when followed precisely, meet all USDA guidelines for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. That frees up their time to focus on directing staff to provide great service and encourage students to expand their taste palette.

“The greatest advantage to working with NutriStudents K-12 is that they have already done most of the work for us,” Christianson said. “Most of the time, a person heading a foodservice program would have to spend time developing tasty, regulated meals and menus, creating production records for every meal, researching USDA guidelines, developing HACCP manuals, etc. I never question if their menus are compliant or if their guidance and support in any area are correct. They know their food and their schools better than anyone.”

Aurora’s students have been further drawn into the school menus through nutrition-in-the-classroom exercises. The kindergarten-2nd grade students did a nutrition unit with their English teacher that had them create food wheels based on what they were going to eat for lunch. The exercise gave students a chance to see how nutritionally balanced their meals are.