Oral History Project
We began our Collaborative Research Project by watching the movie Food Inc. With this inspiration, we were instructed to chose a topic related to food to research. As a group, we decided to work our project around the idea of school lunches. Specifically, we interviewed four separate individuals who influence or work closely with school lunches. We are interviewed Duffield Farm Market to learn more about the nutritional value of their produce and what educational opportunities they may have to offer for different school districts.
William Woodruff Elementary
Lindsay interviewed the principal of William Woodruff Elementary school, Ms. Patricia Gasparini for our project on school lunches. We discussed the program in detail and how beneficial she believes the choices are for the children. Part of the transcription can be found below the video.
Transcription from this interview with the principal of William Woodruff Elementary School, Ms. Gasparini:
.55 "What changes have you undergone to make the school lunches better?"
"Well, it’s a little bit different here. For years, up until about I wanna say maybe three years ago, um in our district, um we did the whole lunch program. We ran it, our nutritionist ran it and it aligned with the state um guidelines as far as what we needed to have nutritionally, carbohydrates, fats, etc. About three years ago now, a company runs it. It’s a separate entity that actually runs our food services. So things have changed over that time. The changes I think have been good things because um with the company running it there’s many more choices. Typically the child had an opportunity to have a hot or cold lunch. They have the opportunity to have a hot or cold lunch, they have opportunities to have salad, there’s an extra extra every single week so that they can have that. There are always bagels that are offered also as another selection for lunches. So there’s more variety in the lunches. One of the things that uh when this company took it over there seemed to be a high concentration of carbs. Like we’d be giving them pizza and they would tell them to give them a roll too. So as a district, and as the principal, I said, “You know, you can’t have that many carbs.” So we, they balanced things out. So pretty much there is a vegetable, there is a fruit, there is a carb piece of it, a protein piece of it. So I think it’s a better balance. I still think it’s a school lunch, but I think it’s a better balance."
5:00 "That was actually one of my later questions. So cost definitely does affect the products that you’re buying?"
"It affected it when we were running it, absolutely, ok. Because obviously, we’re, well not obviously, we’re only a six school district as far as that part of it so, our expenses would be greater than if it was a company running it, which could buy more mass, uh, um products as far as that part. There were certain things that were government staples that we were able to buy, definitely at cost. Like um, large cans of corn, those types of things that we definitely saved money on, but it still was more expensive for us because smaller is going to be more expensive because you’re not buying in quantity levels."
“So then if you had the choice, would you prefer the healthier, more expensive option, or the potentially processed cheaper one?”
"Well, I think we always want to go with healthier. I think we have to go with the best of the best that we can. However, you know, we are a public school, we do have kids that are on free and reduced lunch, and we do have families that are in need so we have to be able to offer something that’s going to be, provide the kids the nutrition that they need during the lunchtime. But at the same time, also be able to be something that’s affordable for families so if they have one or two kids, it’s not gonna cost them an arm and a leg if they are buying lunch on a daily basis."
.55 "What changes have you undergone to make the school lunches better?"
"Well, it’s a little bit different here. For years, up until about I wanna say maybe three years ago, um in our district, um we did the whole lunch program. We ran it, our nutritionist ran it and it aligned with the state um guidelines as far as what we needed to have nutritionally, carbohydrates, fats, etc. About three years ago now, a company runs it. It’s a separate entity that actually runs our food services. So things have changed over that time. The changes I think have been good things because um with the company running it there’s many more choices. Typically the child had an opportunity to have a hot or cold lunch. They have the opportunity to have a hot or cold lunch, they have opportunities to have salad, there’s an extra extra every single week so that they can have that. There are always bagels that are offered also as another selection for lunches. So there’s more variety in the lunches. One of the things that uh when this company took it over there seemed to be a high concentration of carbs. Like we’d be giving them pizza and they would tell them to give them a roll too. So as a district, and as the principal, I said, “You know, you can’t have that many carbs.” So we, they balanced things out. So pretty much there is a vegetable, there is a fruit, there is a carb piece of it, a protein piece of it. So I think it’s a better balance. I still think it’s a school lunch, but I think it’s a better balance."
5:00 "That was actually one of my later questions. So cost definitely does affect the products that you’re buying?"
"It affected it when we were running it, absolutely, ok. Because obviously, we’re, well not obviously, we’re only a six school district as far as that part of it so, our expenses would be greater than if it was a company running it, which could buy more mass, uh, um products as far as that part. There were certain things that were government staples that we were able to buy, definitely at cost. Like um, large cans of corn, those types of things that we definitely saved money on, but it still was more expensive for us because smaller is going to be more expensive because you’re not buying in quantity levels."
“So then if you had the choice, would you prefer the healthier, more expensive option, or the potentially processed cheaper one?”
"Well, I think we always want to go with healthier. I think we have to go with the best of the best that we can. However, you know, we are a public school, we do have kids that are on free and reduced lunch, and we do have families that are in need so we have to be able to offer something that’s going to be, provide the kids the nutrition that they need during the lunchtime. But at the same time, also be able to be something that’s affordable for families so if they have one or two kids, it’s not gonna cost them an arm and a leg if they are buying lunch on a daily basis."
Bells Elementary School
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DO you buy products from any local farms or produce venders ?
Dominic : What we do at Bells school is team up with Duffields farm market which is right down the street from us. The students from duffields used to go to bells students go and pick crops like strawberries when the summer approaches. So we do team up with them, our fifth grade team up w. them in the fall and participate in the scarcrow contest. AS for purchasing the foods from the farms. The purchasing for washinting townsho[ is done by the food dep not by the individ pricicpals because of how big our township is.
Deb : But we are hoping that sometime in the future sometime that in the cortyarnd in our school to have the children plant a garden. Starting off with maybe one r two vegetables that all of the children can participate in and the children will be able to see the total life cycle from the seed to the plant and be able to enjoy all the fruits of their labor while learning at the same time. That is something that we are looking into we are looking to see if it could be feasible how we are going to impilemtn the job how we are going to get the materials into the courtyard but this is definitely something we are interesting in looking into.
Are there any specific nutriatonal requtiremtns for the lunches?
D: the state proveids strict standards that all of the districs in nj must adhear too. Probab involves how many vegetables are allowed and sugar contents are prob limited. Like our luches each day offer a meat, vegetable, furit and dairy products so it is touching every food group that wich is required as a nutriical startard in the state.
I did see that your school offers a variety of different options for the students. Now what types of beverages do you offer for the children?
Deb: Basically your skim milk 2% white mile and chocolate milk and water.
D: At the breakfast time you might have juice like orange juice. The breakfast program is avalible to all students. Its really was implemented as a fedral grant in order too make sure that students who are economically disadvatneged would be able to come to school and have two meals a day it started as anyone who had free and reduced lunch would be able to get free and reduced breakfast but now it is offered to other students as well. Such as when mom and dad doesn’t have a schedual that allow for them to eat in the mornig. So the student who gets off the bust in the morning can have breakfast. They have quite the array for students in the morning.
What changes have you undergone to make school lunches healtheri?
D: For the lunches prob f4 or 5 years ago the states came into play. They came out and said no candy can be given in schools because it was a sugar product. SO anything that was a sugar prod had to be restricted in the lunch menu as well. So lunches did change slighty they had to become more nutricial and they had to meet the guidelines that were established by the government. We had to make sure you were offerent dairy , meat and a fruite daily.
DO you buy products from any local farms or produce venders ?
Dominic : What we do at Bells school is team up with Duffields farm market which is right down the street from us. The students from duffields used to go to bells students go and pick crops like strawberries when the summer approaches. So we do team up with them, our fifth grade team up w. them in the fall and participate in the scarcrow contest. AS for purchasing the foods from the farms. The purchasing for washinting townsho[ is done by the food dep not by the individ pricicpals because of how big our township is.
Deb : But we are hoping that sometime in the future sometime that in the cortyarnd in our school to have the children plant a garden. Starting off with maybe one r two vegetables that all of the children can participate in and the children will be able to see the total life cycle from the seed to the plant and be able to enjoy all the fruits of their labor while learning at the same time. That is something that we are looking into we are looking to see if it could be feasible how we are going to impilemtn the job how we are going to get the materials into the courtyard but this is definitely something we are interesting in looking into.
Are there any specific nutriatonal requtiremtns for the lunches?
D: the state proveids strict standards that all of the districs in nj must adhear too. Probab involves how many vegetables are allowed and sugar contents are prob limited. Like our luches each day offer a meat, vegetable, furit and dairy products so it is touching every food group that wich is required as a nutriical startard in the state.
I did see that your school offers a variety of different options for the students. Now what types of beverages do you offer for the children?
Deb: Basically your skim milk 2% white mile and chocolate milk and water.
D: At the breakfast time you might have juice like orange juice. The breakfast program is avalible to all students. Its really was implemented as a fedral grant in order too make sure that students who are economically disadvatneged would be able to come to school and have two meals a day it started as anyone who had free and reduced lunch would be able to get free and reduced breakfast but now it is offered to other students as well. Such as when mom and dad doesn’t have a schedual that allow for them to eat in the mornig. So the student who gets off the bust in the morning can have breakfast. They have quite the array for students in the morning.
What changes have you undergone to make school lunches healtheri?
D: For the lunches prob f4 or 5 years ago the states came into play. They came out and said no candy can be given in schools because it was a sugar product. SO anything that was a sugar prod had to be restricted in the lunch menu as well. So lunches did change slighty they had to become more nutricial and they had to meet the guidelines that were established by the government. We had to make sure you were offerent dairy , meat and a fruite daily.
Glassboro Public School District
Tarrah interviewed a lunch aid from the Glassboro Public School District. She gave feedback on how she feels about the nutritional value of the school lunches that are served. She also gave input on how she feels about the snacks that are given at the after-school program she works at.
1:41
What do you think a healthier option would be for them?
Give them more choices of different types of fruit, and they don't have to be, and not canned fruit, 'cause they get a lotta canned fruit. Give them fresh fruit, give them more of a choice. and have enough for all of the kids! I've seen halfway through third lunch the kids aren't getting any fruit because they ran out.
Wow, that's a big issue. Do you personally shop at a supermarket or fresh produce market?
Yeah.
Have you ever shopped at Duffield's?
No, because of the prices. That's the only thing that keeps me from Duffield's, but I do go to other produce markets.
-----
2:45
Have you ever heard that Duffield's has an educational program where they teach students about healthier food choices?
No...
If you go on their website, they actually have lesson plans and everything on there.
I'm getting them! I never knew they had that, I never even thought to look at Duffield's for stuff like that.
What do you think they coudl do to advertise that better for schools, because this is something that schools can use.
Put it in chalktalk! Here in Pitman, we use chalktalk. Send an email to the schools to send around to the teachers. That would be so much better.
Do you think students in general are learning enough about nutrition and healthier foods?
No.
What do you think should or could be done about it, or what would you do?
I would just show them the different options and try to get them... like I try to get the kids at the schools I work at for the lunches, one thing I always do is the kids, they have to at least taste it. They can't just throw it away they have to taste it. So, if you have more choices available for them to taste...you could do that at an after-school program. Have different choices available for them to taste, try it, you might like it, and have healthier foods available to them at that point in time.
If Duffield's came to a school, such as Pitman, or anywhere, do you think that's something that the school would be willing to take on, to use their programs to implement in their schools?
I dunno that's hard to say. In the one school that I work at during lunchtime I don't think that they would because they're privatized. Their lunch program is privatized.
How does that work? Or what does that mean?
There's a private company that comes in, NutriServe I believe it is. They come in, they prepare the foods, and they serve it to the students. It has nothing to do with the district itself. The district has no control over it.
Wow, okay. So is that company given to the school by the state?
No, it's just a private company.
So then the principal and people like that have nothing to do with the nutritional value of the lunches?
Nothing to do with the nutritional value of the lunches.
What do you think a healthier option would be for them?
Give them more choices of different types of fruit, and they don't have to be, and not canned fruit, 'cause they get a lotta canned fruit. Give them fresh fruit, give them more of a choice. and have enough for all of the kids! I've seen halfway through third lunch the kids aren't getting any fruit because they ran out.
Wow, that's a big issue. Do you personally shop at a supermarket or fresh produce market?
Yeah.
Have you ever shopped at Duffield's?
No, because of the prices. That's the only thing that keeps me from Duffield's, but I do go to other produce markets.
-----
2:45
Have you ever heard that Duffield's has an educational program where they teach students about healthier food choices?
No...
If you go on their website, they actually have lesson plans and everything on there.
I'm getting them! I never knew they had that, I never even thought to look at Duffield's for stuff like that.
What do you think they coudl do to advertise that better for schools, because this is something that schools can use.
Put it in chalktalk! Here in Pitman, we use chalktalk. Send an email to the schools to send around to the teachers. That would be so much better.
Do you think students in general are learning enough about nutrition and healthier foods?
No.
What do you think should or could be done about it, or what would you do?
I would just show them the different options and try to get them... like I try to get the kids at the schools I work at for the lunches, one thing I always do is the kids, they have to at least taste it. They can't just throw it away they have to taste it. So, if you have more choices available for them to taste...you could do that at an after-school program. Have different choices available for them to taste, try it, you might like it, and have healthier foods available to them at that point in time.
If Duffield's came to a school, such as Pitman, or anywhere, do you think that's something that the school would be willing to take on, to use their programs to implement in their schools?
I dunno that's hard to say. In the one school that I work at during lunchtime I don't think that they would because they're privatized. Their lunch program is privatized.
How does that work? Or what does that mean?
There's a private company that comes in, NutriServe I believe it is. They come in, they prepare the foods, and they serve it to the students. It has nothing to do with the district itself. The district has no control over it.
Wow, okay. So is that company given to the school by the state?
No, it's just a private company.
So then the principal and people like that have nothing to do with the nutritional value of the lunches?
Nothing to do with the nutritional value of the lunches.
Cedar Creek Elementary School
Chelsea Ernst's Interviews
Im interviewing a local elementary school caf managner.
Do you buy from any local farms or produce vendors?
We actually don’t buy from any local farms I wish we did. They have a lot of programs that will allow for us to do that in the future. But we do buy from local produce vendors who buy from the local farms and it workds out quite well. We are able to be a part of a local co op and we get really great prices and really good produce that way.
Are there any set nutrional requirements for your meals?
Oh absolutely, we actually off the children breakfast and lunch. For breakfast there are four food requirements milk, juice grain and a protine and the children are reqired to take them in order for them to counts as a meal. Then for lunch they are offered milk, juice, grian. Veg and protein out of five they need to take three they can take all five but only need to take three. There are so many calories that a child needs to have in the course of a week. They don’t break it down per day but in the future they will be doing that. Also there are so many grains they have to have during the week they are trying to cut out the fats we switched to low fat mile and yogurt all our breads are whole grains our program has really come a long way.
Now what happens if the children don’t take all three reqirements?
Well in that situation we are not allowed to charge the children for a full lunch, they would have to be charged ale cart which we really try not to encourage that. First off they aren’t getting a complete nutricous meal.
What beverages do you supply at school?
Well we are on the elem leve we offer them skim 2% 1% choc and straw, juice and water. In the older schools they offer Snapple, no soda is allowed in schools.
So do you feel the the chocolate and straw milk are better in nutrional levels then other sugars you are offering the children?
Well we don’t offer sugars in the lunch. They can buy that from the snack station as an ale cart item as long as the sugar isn’t the first ingredient. With the milk the benefits of the milk outway the cons of the sugar.
Now in Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution he is trying to ban chocolate and straw milk do you agree?
Well I don’t agree with him whole heartedly. I would rather see them go to a lower fat like one percent or skim. What your are going to find the children aren’t going to buying any milk then they aren’t going to be getting any nutrional requirements of the milk.
Well wouldn’t it be better to just offer only skim milk to the children then?
Well you could do that but they aren’t going to be drinking any milk at all then, if they aren’t dirnking any milk then they aren’t getting any vitamin D. You know at least we are offering an alternative to a whole fat milk we are offering low fat I don’t totally agree with him you know I understand where he is going with it but we also have to understand they are kids and they aren’t just going to take the skim milk and be happy with it.
Im interviewing a local elementary school caf managner.
Do you buy from any local farms or produce vendors?
We actually don’t buy from any local farms I wish we did. They have a lot of programs that will allow for us to do that in the future. But we do buy from local produce vendors who buy from the local farms and it workds out quite well. We are able to be a part of a local co op and we get really great prices and really good produce that way.
Are there any set nutrional requirements for your meals?
Oh absolutely, we actually off the children breakfast and lunch. For breakfast there are four food requirements milk, juice grain and a protine and the children are reqired to take them in order for them to counts as a meal. Then for lunch they are offered milk, juice, grian. Veg and protein out of five they need to take three they can take all five but only need to take three. There are so many calories that a child needs to have in the course of a week. They don’t break it down per day but in the future they will be doing that. Also there are so many grains they have to have during the week they are trying to cut out the fats we switched to low fat mile and yogurt all our breads are whole grains our program has really come a long way.
Now what happens if the children don’t take all three reqirements?
Well in that situation we are not allowed to charge the children for a full lunch, they would have to be charged ale cart which we really try not to encourage that. First off they aren’t getting a complete nutricous meal.
What beverages do you supply at school?
Well we are on the elem leve we offer them skim 2% 1% choc and straw, juice and water. In the older schools they offer Snapple, no soda is allowed in schools.
So do you feel the the chocolate and straw milk are better in nutrional levels then other sugars you are offering the children?
Well we don’t offer sugars in the lunch. They can buy that from the snack station as an ale cart item as long as the sugar isn’t the first ingredient. With the milk the benefits of the milk outway the cons of the sugar.
Now in Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution he is trying to ban chocolate and straw milk do you agree?
Well I don’t agree with him whole heartedly. I would rather see them go to a lower fat like one percent or skim. What your are going to find the children aren’t going to buying any milk then they aren’t going to be getting any nutrional requirements of the milk.
Well wouldn’t it be better to just offer only skim milk to the children then?
Well you could do that but they aren’t going to be drinking any milk at all then, if they aren’t dirnking any milk then they aren’t getting any vitamin D. You know at least we are offering an alternative to a whole fat milk we are offering low fat I don’t totally agree with him you know I understand where he is going with it but we also have to understand they are kids and they aren’t just going to take the skim milk and be happy with it.
