Staff strives to serve more students more meals.
BY EVELYN CHASTAIN
Bradford County Schools
What do you do when you accept the position as Bradford County School District director of food service in the month of April? For Blake Dicks, director of school food service for Bradford County schools, it was set goals!
With a career in food service extending over two decades, Dicks knew what to look for which is where he began. Number one: increase breakfast and lunch participation. Number two: enhance à la carte options. Number three: support the staff to provide exceptional customer service.
So, after two years, let’s check in on his progress.
A March 2024 report revealed Bradford Schools at 45% breakfast participation and 75% lunch participation. That means about 1,300 students eat breakfast and 2,200 students eat lunch daily. If the school district was a restaurant, it would be the largest in Bradford County.
One element important to that success was the renewal of Bradford County School District in the Community Eligibility Provision under the National School Lunch Program that allows eligible schools to offer a non-pricing meal service to all students at no charge for lunch and breakfast meals. CEP allows schools that predominantly serve low-income children to offer free, nutritious school meals to all students through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. This benefits families tremendously with a nutritious free breakfast and free lunch for their child without additional paperwork and no cost.
Another factor in increasing breakfast and lunch participation has been feedback on the menus. Cafeteria managers tally and report on meals being served. This information factors into menu planning which begins about six months before the actual meal is served. Generally, there are two major food service seasons: winter and spring. Dicks described the winter season as comfort food with items like chili, grilled cheese, and meatloaf offered. The spring menu includes chicken tender wraps, soft tacos and dill chicken bites. Minor tweaks occur during each season based on availability and demand.
Choice is an important factor in increasing breakfast and lunch participation. All secondary schools have a
daily salad option in addition to two main course options. Elementary students have a choice from two main course options but the combinations for vegetables and fruits are endless with two vegetables and two fruits offered daily across the grade levels. Variety is also the spice of life which is why vegetable choices do not repeat in the same week.
With numerous afterschool activities including elementary extended day, tutoring and supervised athletic programs, Dicks introduced a supper program. Bradford County schools are proud to provide organized, regularly scheduled activities, including an educational or enrichment activity, in a structured and supervised environment which allows students to benefit from the supper program. Participation has increased each month since the introduction in August 2023 with over 6,500 suppers served through the end of February 2024.
During Covid, students were not allowed to purchase additional à la carte items or “snacks” such as low-fat ice cream or bottled flavored water. Dicks was able to again start serving à la carte items in the 2022-23 school year. Snacks must meet healthy requirements but must also be popular with students. An example is Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos, the district’s most popular snack seller. Dicks went to the customer to determine what was sold.
À la carte item selection is student driven by demand, however, sometimes too much of a good thing is too much, so if your student notices their favorite à la carte item absent from the options, be sure to let the staff know. It might just come back as choices are refreshed frequently.
A popular à la carte option at Bradford High is the Slushie Machine with five or six flavor options to choose from. À la carte items range in price from 25 cents to $2 and can be purchased with MySchoolBucks accounts.
A $15 per hour starting salary for food service employees in the Bradford County School District has contributed to maintaining a positive solid staff. New ways to provide excellent customer service training was provided to all managers and staff. The new uniform for all food service workers speaks proudly of their Tornado status with black pants and bright red shirts.
When it’s your job to cook for hundreds of customers daily, new equipment only helps you do your job better. Of course, Bradford Elementary has a state-of-the-art kitchen and serving line with the construction of the new school. New equipment and furnishings have not stopped there. All other district schools have been recipients of new equipment that ranges from new ovens to new freezers or refrigerators, most of which has been paid for with a Florida Department of Agriculture grant.
With the attainment of many initial goals comes a sound financial position for the Bradford County School District Food Service Department. While Dicks inherited an allowable fund balance of three months operating expenses as established by the Florida Department of Agriculture, the growth in that balance allows for the expansion and development of new programs as well as increased quality and taste of menu items.
What’s in store for 2024? Grants offered through numerous child nutrition sources offer enhancements and opportunities for students to expand the variety of fruits and vegetables students experience. One such program, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program which provides students a daily healthy snack option of a fresh fruit or vegetable enjoying guava, heart of palm and pomegranate, plus more routine choices like apples, blueberries and strawberries. Dicks anticipates offering the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program within a year at an elementary site.
Other grants could be used to support student-produced vegetables that would be served on the menu. Still other grants provide school lunch programs to participate in one of America’s popular activities like barbeque and outdoor grilling.
Creating a warm and inviting decor at Starke and Lawtey elementary schools is in the planning stages. Similar facelifts have been very successful at the middle and high school cafeterias. Refreshing the serving lines and dining area decor will benefit staff and students through a positive impact on their surroundings.
The food service team set a motto for this school year; “Exceeding Expectations.” Dicks set goals to exceed the students’ expectations with quality food, great food options and great customer service. Food service is no longer a one option/one meal only, institutional setting. Today’s school food service offers multiple daily meal choices, two meals plus a possible third meal opportunity, a variety of à la carte items and up-to-date equipment that any commercial or restaurant kitchen would be jealous of, a competitive salary and benefits for employees and a positive dining decor with additional refreshing on the horizon. Bradford County Food Service is “exceeding expectations” for their students.
