Triton’s food services have just offered their newest system, the after-school snack cart. This change is just one of many that have been made in the last several years since COVID-19.
“We take pride in the food we serve, but at the end of the day, we want to serve meals that the students will enjoy and eat,” said Sarah Littmann, director of food and nutrition services of the Triton Regional School District.
Since COVID, the food department has had several major changes in their offered services. They now provide free food for all students, overall healthier choices, and more options. These changes came as a result of student requests, which play a huge part in making changes in the department. When asked about whether or not student feedback was important, Littmann responded with “Absolutely! We love getting feedback on the meals we serve,”.
Deciding the best school lunch at Triton can be difficult, with opinions and preferences varying across the student body. However, certain parts of a school lunch make it notable and popular among Triton.
The students here clearly have some favorite lunches.
When asked about her favorite lunch Peighton Hertigan said, “My favorite meal is definitely mozzarella sticks.” The mozzarella sticks and pizza crunchers are being taken by the kids so quickly that the lunch ladies need to resupply every few minutes.
“The cheese on the mozzarella sticks is so long and stretchy, it’s exactly how I like it,” said senior, Bradyn Lopes.
The burger and smiley fries combo gets the same treatment from the students. Both are cooked to perfection and with a variety of toppings and condiments, what’s not to love? The lines on these two days especially are unbelievably long. People even go so far as to cut all the way to the front just to get their hands on some of these lunches.
Even if you don’t like the meal choice that day, there are plenty of options to choose from. “I think there is a large variety where every student can find something they like,” said junior Cam McDonald who talked about how easily accessible all the options were and that you didn’t have to ask to get something you really wanted. There are a lot of meals to choose from like the salad bar, different packaged meals like sandwiches and bagels, and a soup of the day to choose from. This is a major point of interest within the department, as variety is tough to achieve whilst fulfilling dietary requirements. “The standards are broken down by age/grade (elementary, middle, high school) and have limits on calories, added sugar, saturated fat, sodium, and also regulate the types of grains and variety of vegetables we serve,” Littmann said.
It is important that Triton’s students are not only happy but healthy, which is why it’s a good thing another popular choice at Triton includes the various chicken products offered, the standouts being General Tso’s Chicken, popcorn chicken and the chicken patties.
All of these options are widely loved by Triton’s population and help alleviate some concerns about there not being enough protein in a triton students diet.
“I think that it could be improved by a greater focus on protein dense meals,” said Cam Macdonald.
Chicken is a fantastic source of lean protein and is very rich in essential vitamins and minerals, making it an ideal choice for lunch or dinner, and it is great that so many options appear throughout the school year.
In a perfect world, Triton’s food story would end here, but unfortunately, challenges are bound to rise.
“We’ve seen significant supply chain concerns in the last few years,” Littmann said. These issues are still being ironed out, and it is important to recognize and appreciate all of the adversity Triton’s food department goes through to ensure food hits the trays every day.
