Schools serving up something new at lunch

Wrangell Public School District has been trying something new for lunch this year, enlisting local kitchens to keep students at the middle and high schools fed.

Five private food services have staked out days of the week to provide meals: J&W's Fast Foods, the delis at Bobs' IGA and City Market, Notsofamous Pizza, and the Stikine Restaurant.

Secondary schools principal Bill Schwan explained the arrangement had developed in response to an in-house menu attempted last year. At the end of the 2014-15 school year, the Wrangell School Board opted to withdraw from the National School Lunch Program and professional meal services, citing potential financial savings.

The soup-and-sandwich selection it went with proved unpopular with students in the upper level schools, though the program has been continued at Evergreen Elementary School. The expected cost savings had also not borne fruit, though the program is more manageable now that it has been pared back to one school.

"The elementary school's program has come 180," said Schwan. Managed by Susan Moran, he explained the Evergreen lunch program can offer more variety, hot dishes with a balance of fruits and vegetables. "Instead of doing both schools she just does the one, which helps out."

Based on feedback from students during last year's exit interviews, Schwan said he had gotten together with the superintendent, the local Chamber of Commerce and Jake Harris, manager of the Stikine Inn and Restaurant, to brainstorm an alternative.

Freed up from the NSLP guidelines, Schwan said the main goals were to provide nutritious meals for a relatively low cost. After some tinkering over the spring and some industry advice from Harris, by July he had begun approaching different businesses in town with a proposal.

The idea was to have one business take a day of the week, providing several $5 options for students' meals.

"That was his challenge to us," said Josh Young, owner of J&W's since January 2016. Pricing is one consideration, one which his business was able to work around by offering items made from ingredients it normally keeps in stock. He said they are not making a profit on the menu, though the constant volume each week will likely help through the ordinarily slower winter months.

Less challenging has been the ordering, which are taken a day up to a week in advance using a Google Doc file students have access to. These selections are then forwarded to the kitchen the evening before, with anywhere from 40 to 60 kids to prepare meals for.

"We've had quite a bit of success so far, a lot of kids are participating," said Harris, whose restaurant was invited on board just before the school year started, after another prospective participant backed out.

Schwan calculated 816 meals have been prepared for 147 students between the start of the school year through the end of September.

"Kids have a wide variety of choices throughout the week," he added, with businesses offering a few different lunch options for each day. The Stikine, for example, makes available Caesar wraps, teriyaki chicken, soup and salad combinations, French dip sandwiches and chicken salad.

"We try to give them adultish foods," he said, a combination of hot and cold items that are somewhat unique and nutritious. Like Young, Harris' kitchen works around price limitations by using items that are already in its inventory. Plus the added business allows staff at the Stikine an extra shift each week during its off-season lull.

The other challenge posed to vendors has been preparing enough meals quickly enough to remain fresh through collection and service. A school van equipped with an insulated rack comes by shortly before the lunch hour to pick up orders, conveying them back to campus.

J&W's offers students a choice of burgers, chicken nuggets and tacos, but has discovered French fries are difficult to produce and transport en masse without losing their crispness. Instead Young said they offer a hardier tater tot as a side.

"It's been a good change for kids," Schwan commented. Students seem to like it, and so far the service has not seen any hiccups either with ordering or transport. Plus, the program tends to keep students fed and on campus during their 35-minute break, which Schwan suggested has reduced tardiness in the latter hours of the day so far this year.