BOULDER – The Boulder Valley Board of Education, at its May 13 meeting, unanimously approved a contract for a district wide feasibility study of its food service operation. The study’s purpose is to explore the possibility of bringing more nutritious, closer-to-the-source meals to BVSD students. The driving force behind this study is the district’s and community’s desire to improve the health and wellness of BVSD’s school food programs.
The contract is with Lunch Lessons LLC, founded by Ann Cooper, who is the Director of Food Services for the Berkeley Unified School District. Ms. Cooper is a nationally-known chef, author of “Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children,” and a self-titled “renegade lunch lady.” The study will assess the district’s current systems and practices, as well as offer alternative formats for potentially shifting BVSD’s existing system to a scratch-cooking environment.
BVSD Chief Financial Officer Leslie Stafford credited partnering community organizations and businesses such Our Love of Children and their “Garden to Table” project, the local Whole Foods leadership, Fresh Ideas Group, Culinary School of the Rockies, The Farmers’ Market, and others as “real motivators” in convincing the BVSD administration of the need to commit greater resources on an accelerated timeline to address school nutrition. Ms. Stafford also acknowledged the unanimous support of the school board especially Dr. Helayne Jones, board president and healthy foods advocate and Dr. Chris King, BVSD superintendent.
Lunch Lessons LLC will be working at the district level during June and July, and will submit a progress report from their findings on August 1, 2008. They will return to visit select school sites in September (those sites will be determined as we approach those dates). The final draft report will then be due at the district on October 3, with final presentation to the district and Board of Education on October 14.
“This is an exciting and challenging initiative for our community and our students,” said Ms. Stafford who also serves as co-chair of the School Food Committee. The committee is a joint community/BVSD working group focused on providing improved school lunches that are nutritious and appealing to students within the district’s budget.
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