Matteson School District 162

Home-style Cooking in Small Batches

Our “back to basics” approach to school nutrition has enabled us to get to the heart of what matters: serving wholesome, great tasting food and teaching students to make nutritious meal and snack choices, thus setting the stage for our children to enjoy a more enriching educational experience.

 

We prepare our food in small batches, with wholesome ingredients, just like you do for your own families. By cooking in small amounts throughout café serving times, our meals remain fresh and delicious, from the first minutes of service to the last student through our doors. Our purchased items, including meat, produce and other ingredients, are delivered fresh or flash frozen, and often come from local vendors. Our culinary-trained executive chefs have tested and refined our recipes, incorporating seasonal food trends and regional taste preferences. Wherever possible, we do “scratch cooking,” making our own sauces, soups, marinades and gravies. We add fresh herbs and spices for the best flavors. The result is wholesome foods made from simple, natural ingredients. 

 

Interactive Menus

 

Breakfast Menus

Studies show an increase in both attention skills and knowledge retention when children begin their day with a balanced, nutritious breakfast. Furthermore, children who skip breakfast are at a higher risk for obesity due to overeating later in the day, slower metabolisms and the tendency to choose less healthy food options. School breakfast is a convenient, nutritious way to start the school day!

 

Lunch Menus

A healthy lunch is a critical component to the overall educational experience, nourishing the body and setting the stage for a day of learning and knowledge retention. We offer age-appropriate lunch menu options at each grade level, with increasingly more options at the older grade levels as students mature and learn how to make healthier choices. At the elementary school level, we strive to help educate and guide younger students to make balanced meal choices from amongst familiar “kid-friendly” foods made with healthier ingredients. For secondary school students, we offer a food-court style environment with a wide variety of wholesome menu choices. 

 

Accommodating Special Dietary Needs

We work closely with students, parents and school nurses to provide nutritional, allergen and ingredient disclosure on the menu items we serve and accommodate doctor-prescribed special diet plans. Allergen information can be viewed on our interactive menus (click on the links above). We also maintain an allergen “right to know” station on every serving line, which includes a detailed listing of all of our food products separated by allergen food categories. In addition, detailed ingredient information is available for our freshly prepared menu items, as well as manufacturer labels for every pre-packaged item (i.e., snacks) through our foodservice director on site.

 

Local Purchasing

 

Ingredient Sourcing Emphasizing Local Product Providers

Local purchasing is an important part of our overall purchasing strategy and we therefore partner with local farms and vendors whenever possible. We believe it is important to provide local produce, dairy and other main meal components for increased quality and freshness, and to support our local economies.

 

We require all our vendors to adhere to the same strict quality guidelines as our regional and national suppliers. One requirement is that farms follow Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), including approved testing of their water quality and irrigation process. We also have safety and packaging expectations that must be in place to ensure that quality and integrity of all products are maintained, as well as HACCP plans, lot traceability, full ingredient and allergen disclosure and satisfactory third party audit results.

 

Our policy is to source locally whenever available and in season. We currently source an average of 52% of our product mix locally, either through our distributors or by developing partnerships directly with local vendors. Some of the core items sourced locally include produce, dairy, fresh bakery items, juices, water, coffee, pizza dough, beef and poultry, seafood, dressings, pastas and snacks.

 

Nutrition Zone

 

Nutrition Information on Menus

Studies show that a healthy breakfast and lunch are critical components to the overall educational experience, nourishing the body and setting the stage for a day of learning and knowledge retention. As dining service providers, we appreciate the critical role we play in ensuring the health and well-being of the students we serve by assisting them in selecting the healthiest, safest meal choices for their needs. 

 

Nutrient Analysis

All Whitsons School Nutrition menus are reviewed by a Registered Dietitian and nutritionally analyzed through a USDA-approved program to ensure each menu meets or exceeds standards. In addition, Whitsons has a complete nutritional analysis on all core menu items available for any parents, staff or student interested in learning more about any particular item. Click here to visit our Menu List page and download our interactive menus (in PDF format). You will be able to double click on a menu day for detailed nutrition and allergen information on the items we are serving.

 

Accommodating Allergen-Free Diets and Other Doctor-Prescribed Dietary Restrictions

Whitsons provides menu alternatives to accommodate students with doctor-prescribed special diet plans. We work in partnership with parents, school nurses and the student to determine an appropriate menu that meets each student’s needs. Our goal with our allergen free food program is to enable children with food allergies and sensitivities to be free to enjoy great tasting, safe and healthy foods in the school lunchroom, without fear of an adverse reaction or feeling isolated from their peers. Allergen information can be viewed on our interactive menus (see above). We also maintain an allergen “right to know” station on every serving line, which includes a detailed listing of all of our food products separated by allergen food categories. In addition, detailed ingredient information is available for our freshly prepared menu items, as well as manufacturer labels for every pre-packaged item (i.e., snacks) through our foodservice director on site.

Elementary School Nutrition Program

Elementary school children need a helping hand navigating the café and choosing the most nutritious menu items for a complete, balanced meal. Our Nutrition Safari® program is designed to literally help “walk” our youngest customers down the road to lifelong healthy eating habits.

• Wholesome Menus with Daily Healthy Offerings. Our program begins with a solid base of healthy daily menu offerings. All menu items meet or exceed federal and state nutrition requirements for a healthy school breakfast or lunch. Fresh fruits and veggies are served every day, as well as a variety of lean proteins, whole grains, low fat dairy and 100% fruit juice. Visit our Menu List page to see our menus.
• Holiday or Seasonal Theme Days and Recurring Monthly Promotions. Each month we celebrate special holidays or seasonal theme days with a special themed menu to add interest and excitement to the menu. Other student favorites include our monthly “brunch for lunch” program and our “lucky sticker day,” when we randomly mark fruits and veggies with stickers each lunch period and provide the winning students with a free healthy snack. Check out our menus for details on special menu days.
• Fruit/Vegetable of the Month Program. In addition to the wide variety of vegetables and fruits we offer on our daily menus, we highlight a different fruit or vegetable each month, with additional menu offerings, posters and flyers. Click here for information on our fruit/vegetable of the month. [there will be a generic and a NJ version uploaded each month.]
• Activity of the Month Program. Various seasonally appropriate activities are highlighted each month on posters and flyers, to remind students of the importance of regular physical activity. Click here for information on our Activity of the Month.
• Nutrition Safari^® Elementary Nutrition Program. Our award-winning nutrition awareness program uses loveable animal characters to help identify the food groups and explain the components of a healthy meal. Click here to meet the characters.
  • Nutrition Safari Monthly Theme Day. Each month, we offer a monthly theme day highlighting a particular nutrition theme or tip, including a special menu for the day. Refer to our menus for upcoming theme days.
  • Character Visits. Our children look forward to their annual safari character visit each year.  The character visit is advertised in advance and includes a skit with a Safari ranger who speaks for the character and engages the children in a related nutrition lesson within the character’s area of expertise. 
  • Nutrition Safari Handouts. The program includes monthly activity sheets and coloring pages and activities books that are available to reinforce healthy eating messages. Click here to download this month’s activity sheets!
  • Nutrition Safari Educational Posters and Décor. The program also includes a series of posters on MyPlate, the components of a meal and portion sizes, as well as the characters and their nutrition messages. 

 

Secondary School Nutrition Program

Tweens and teens need to be able to embrace their individuality, while learning how to make healthy dining choices. Our secondary school nutrition program reinforces healthier eating, while providing a variety of menu options from which to choose. 

• Wholesome Menus with Many Choices Daily. At the secondary level, our program includes a variety of menu options at various themed food stations. The stations have menu options that are always available, as well as menu specials that change daily. All menu items meet or exceed federal and state nutrition requirements for a healthy school breakfast or lunch. Fresh fruits and veggies are served every day, as well as a variety of lean proteins, whole grains, low fat dairy and 100% fruit juice. Visit our Menu List page to see our menus.
• SPICE^TM Quarterly Menu Special Program. Our quarterly SPICE marketing program features 20-30 special limited-time-offer menu options around a specific, seasonally-appropriate theme. Click here to check out this quarter’s SPICE program.
• Holiday or Seasonal Theme Days and Recurring Monthly Promotions. Each month we celebrate special holidays or seasonal theme days with a special themed menu to add interest and excitement to the menu. Check out our menus for details on special menu days.
• Fruit/Vegetable of the Month Program. In addition to the wide variety of vegetables and fruits we offer on our daily menus, we highlight a different fruit or vegetable each month, with additional menu offerings, posters and flyers. Click here for information on our fruit/vegetable of the month. [there will be a generic and a NJ version uploaded each month.]
• Activity of the Month Program. Various seasonally appropriate activities are highlighted each month on posters and flyers, to remind students of the importance of regular physical activity. Click here for information on our Activity of the Month.
• Smart Choices^TM Secondary Nutrition Education Program. Every month, we feature a special nutrition message and corresponding Smart Choices theme menu to educate the students about an important nutrition topic. These topics are supported by our monthly Smart Choices newsletter, which is distributed via our Smart Choices message centers, along with our Smart Choices info series cards on various nutrition topics. Check out this month’s Smart Choices newsletter.