Suggestions for Implementing Personal Menus
Putting personalization into practice can look like:
Whenever you’re making adjustments to the menu with specific groups or eating patterns in mind, getting the school community involved to seek authentic input is essential. Districts can also explore procurement strategies like doing a separate Special Diet Bid if available or required to help make meeting students’ needs more affordable. Staff buy-in is an important part of getting them excited to prepare and serve the food, and that is a positive influence on students’ experience. Marketing is a useful tool to spread awareness and interest in personalized menu options, like a poster or social media post promoting a new menu item or LTO. For staff and students, teaching the “why” of the personalized menu can help them understand and appreciate the personalization strategy. It also presents an opportunity for skills development, like following best practices for food safety and allergen management or a how- to prepare an unfamiliar food. Personalizing the menu can help all students feel honored, included and excited about school food. For more information about serving peanuts in K12, visit PeanutsinSchools.org. • Offer vs. serve • Condiments, sauces and toppings in individually packaged cups or self-serve • DIY salad bars at lunch and bagel bars with peanut butter at breakfast • Staffed stations for salads, sandwiches, pizza and pasta • Bowl stations featuring a variety of proteins, grains, vegetables and sauces • Mobile ordering, catering and a la cart options
charcoal-grilled origins of hot-salty-sour peri peri chicken. In South Jersey’s Camden County, some students may see the savory, tomato-rich comforts of West African jollof rice. And in the strongly Caribbean South Bronx, students might sit down to a meal of scratch-made Trinidadian curry with roti flatbread.” Managing Special Dietary Restrictions The cuisines and dietary patterns around the world as highlighted above often include common allergens, like peanuts, tree nuts and soy. However, successfully managing food allergies in schools is possible, and doesn’t require banning or eliminating peanuts or any other foods from school menus. Comprehensive approaches to food allergy management are key and schools can find resources at PeanutsinSchools.org. The School District of Lee County in Fort Myers, Florida added peanut butter back to the district’s offerings in 2022, after a nearly 20-year ban due to allergies. Amy Carroll, coordinator of Food and Nutrition Services, said, “Now we’re faced with unprecedented times with supply shortages, labor shortages, just a variety of factors that have led us to reexamine bringing peanut butter back on the menu because it’s an affordable, available commodity that kids enjoy eating.” The district rolled out an extensive communications campaign to the community and followed precautions to continue to keep students with peanut allergy protected, including product stickers and additional signage.
Sherry Coleman Collins, MS, RDN, LD | National Peanut Board
Sherry Coleman Collins is a Marietta, GA based registered dietitian nutritionist with experience in food allergies, pediatric clinical nutrition, school foodservice and nutrition communications. She is a consultant for National Peanut Board.
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