More kids getting school meals in St. Mary

The number of students eating lunches prepared in St. Mary school cafeterias has increased significantly within a month compared to last year’s total figures.

And breakfast participation doesn’t fall too short behind.

When former principal Claire Guarisco accepted the child nutrition supervisor position, Superintendent Leonard Armato charged her with the task of increasing the number of students eating breakfast and lunch at school in the cafeteria.

“We’ve been doing a lot to increase student participation,” Guarisco said. “I showed every school, principals and cafeteria managers their participation rate over the past three years.”

The goal is for 50 percent of students to eat breakfast, and for 80 percent of the students to eat lunch.

Students in 14 schools are eating free breakfast and lunch as a result of the new Community Eligibility Program. Seven schools did not qualify for the program.

“CEP was a huge undertaking,” Guarisco said. “That was important to us because in St. Mary Parish, our economy has taken a downward spiral. This helps our families.”

CEP is a provision from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that allows schools and districts with high poverty rates to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students.

This is a federally funded program. It is only for one year. The district will reassess data in April of 2017 to see if the program remains beneficial.

“We want to do whatever we can do to help our families with financial burdens,” Guarisco said. “CEP does just that. CEP schools don’t have to worry about how to pay for breakfast and lunch.”

The district also increased breakfast and lunch prices for the 2016-17 school year, which was calculated by the Louisiana Department of Education.

Students now pay 80 cents for breakfast, an increase of 5 cents.

Lunch increased by 10 cents. Pre-K through fifth-grade lunches cost $1.70. In sixth-grade to 12th-grade, the cost of lunch is $1.95.

All 21 schools increased lunch participation.

As of August, schools with the highest percentages of increased lunch participation were:

—Franklin Junior High, 16 percent.

—Berwick High School, 13 percent.

—Patterson Junior High, 12 percent.

—Hattie Watts Elementary, 12 percent.

Of the four schools listed above, only three qualified for CEP. Berwick High did not qualify for the program.

The schools with the lowest lunch percentages gained were:

—LaGrange Elementary, 1 percent.

—Norman Elementary, 1 percent.

—Berwick Elementary, 2 percent.

—Wyandotte Elementary, 2 percent.

Of the four elementary schools with the lowest percentages gained, three are CEP schools. Berwick Elementary is not.

Eighteen of 21 schools experienced percentage gains in August for breakfast participation.

Schools with the largest percentage gains for breakfast participation were:

—Patterson Junior High, 11 percent.

—B.E. Boudreaux Middle, 9 percent.

—Raintree Elementary, 9 percent.

—Hattie Watts Elementary, 8 percent.

These four schools are covered by CEP.

Schools with the smallest percentage breakfast gains were J.S. Aucoin and J.B. Maitland Elementary at 1 percent. Morgan City Junior High, Berwick and W.P. Foster Elementary had 2 percent participation gains.

Three of the five listed are CEP schools. Aucoin and Berwick Elementary are not CEP schools.

Berwick Junior High and Bayou Vista Elementary percentages remained the same as last year. Morgan City High had a one percent decrease.

Before CEP, the child nutrition department revamped their menus.

It was discovered over a period of many years, nationwide, school cafeterias produced more processed food because it was easier to meet dietary guidelines, Guarisco said.

But in order to fully incorporate a healthy meal concept, it was decided to bring back “scratch cooking” in St. Mary and provide a balance with the types of food served along with processed food.

“The kids enjoy homemade meals more than they do processed food,” said Berwick Junior High cafeteria manager Padgett Leonard.

“Now, don’t get me wrong. I get the chicken nuggets, but every now and then, not every week. I do get a lot more kids that like to eat homemade, home-cooked meals, I guess you could say.”

The district is also working on other initiatives to encourage student participation with breakfast and lunch.

Franklin, Centerville and Patterson High schools are recipients of a Fuel Up to Play 60 grant. This grant is a partnership between the NFL and USDA to promote health and wellness in kids.

The grant was written to implement carts at schools, which makes it easier for high schoolers to grab an already packaged meal and go socialize with friends.

Cart meals start on Oct. 17 in these schools. This idea originally started years ago at Morgan City High by Principal Mickey Fabre, Guarisco said.

St. Mary Schools and Nicholls State’s John Folse Culinary Institute have partnered to create three new dishes for students that meet required dietary guidelines.

The culinary staff will teach cafeteria managers and technicians how to prepare the meals on site at a selected school kitchen Jan. 4, 2017.

St. Mary Schools will recognize the National School Lunch Program and the 30 million children it serves every day by observing National School Lunch Week from Oct. 10-14.

The purpose is to emphasize healthy foods offered daily at local schools. The theme, “Show Your Spirit” is about getting parents, students and school officials to show their spirit for school lunch.

The federally funded program, which has been serving the nation’s children for over 60 years, requires school meals to meet national nutrition standards which includes offering fruits and vegetables every day, serving whole-grain foods, and limiting fat, calories and sodium.