Students weigh in on lunch choices in Centreville
CENTREVILLE — Students at Centreville Jr./Sr. High School had a chance Wednesday to sample and vote on possible new additions to their lunch menu thanks to an initiative through food-service company Chartwells.
Chartwells officials, including area director Chris Bolda and director of dining services Marilyn Rosewarne, were on hand to serve samples of foods up for consideration to be added to the school’s lunch menu based on student vote.
Rosewarne said “Student Choice” is a concept Chartwells is introducing to meet a growing demand for variety in what is offered for lunch. Based on feedback, Rosewarne said it’s clear students appreciate having a say in the matter.
“This is something Chartwells does at all of its districts – we did this in Mendon back in February, for example,” she said. “So, Chartwells sets us up with all of the promotional stuff, the recipes and the concepts, and I chose these two concepts because I know our kids here in Centreville and I know the kind of things they like to eat.”
Students were asked to vote for one of two fares:
Bok Choy, which featured a choice of teriyaki-glazed chicken or chicken bulgogi. Both were served with brown rice.
Big City Barbeque, which offered the option of pulled pork or diced chicken, complemented with four varieties of sauces — chipotle citrus, Memphis BBQ, Southwestern BBQ and Asian ginger BBQ. Both came with cornbread.
Rosewarne said Mendon students chose Bok Choy and it is now featured on a recurring basis at its high school. Centreville’s favorite option was to be determined and it will start its rotation into the school’s menu by late April, Rosewarne said.
“It’s exciting to see the kids excited about lunch,” she said. “They’re happy and they seem to really like trying something that’s pretty different for a school lunch.”
She said foods served in school lunches must fall below a certain sodium content. As a result, some students may have found Wednesday’s foods a bit blander compared to the same fare they might eat outside of a school setting.
Eighth-grade student Lailah Luce said she tried the teriyaki chicken and rice, as well as the diced chicken with Southwestern BBQ sauce. She gave the edge to the teriyaki chicken, served under the banner of Bok Choy.
“The teriyaki chicken had a really good flavor, I really liked it and I would definitely get it if it was offered,” Luce said. “It was kind of neat to have a say in this.”
Dawson Griffin, also an eighth-grade student, said he, too, gave his endorsement to the Bok Choy option.
“Their teriyaki chicken was great,” he said. “Right now, my favorite lunch from school is nachos and it probably always will be. But the teriyaki chicken is really good. I hope they add it.”
Rosewarne said the winning choice will be limited to the district’s jr./sr. high school cafeteria and not the elementary school.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Students weigh in on lunch choices in Centreville
