Raising Needham

Raising Needham: What's For Lunch?

It’s a decade-old question that frustrates students, parents, schools and our government.

I have never been a fan of lunch. Maybe it is because what passed as lunch at school when I was growing up was inedible, and many say not much has changed. When my daughter began kindergarten last year, I decided to pack her lunches until I got a lay of the land. I studied the school lunch menu, asked other parents their opinions and finally allowed my daughter to buy lunch on the rare occasion she liked what was on the menu, which wasn’t often. Then I asked her what she thought. Aside from the thrill of standing in the lunch line and buying lunch, there was not much to report. The pizza was too salty, the mac and cheese too dry and the pasta didn’t have enough sauce. Last year was a bust. I didn’t fare much better at home. Her lunch boxes…

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Needham Lunch Menus for Oct. 1-5

A look at what's for lunch this week in Needham Public Schools.

School menus for the week of Sept. 16-21 are below. Monthly menus are available on the Nutrition Services page. For Broadmeadow, Eliot, Hillside, Mitchell and Newman Popcorn Chicken Bites Dipping Sauces Steamy Mashed Potatoes Glazed Carrots Whole Wheat Dinner Roll Fresh Choc. Chip Cookie Wide Variety Fresh Fruit Wednesday, Oct. 3 Pizza Sticks Italian Style Sauce Lite Italian Romaine Salad Fresh Veggie Stix / Dips Wide Variety Fresh Fruit 3 Cinnamon-Glazed French Toast Sticks Jones Lite Sausage Warm Cinnamon Apples Mandarin Orange-Tossed Salad Wide Variety Fresh Fruit     Early Release Day Pizza Sticks Italian Style Sauce Lite Caesar Salad Wide Variety Fresh Fruit Chese Tortellini w/ Garlic Parmesan Sauce Parmesan Cheese Tomato Basil …

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Needham Lunch Menus for Sept. 24-28

A look at what's for lunch this week in Needham Public Schools.

School menus for the week of Sept. 16-21 are below. Monthly menus are available on the Nutrition Services page. For Broadmeadow, Eliot, Hillside, Mitchell and Newman Crispy Chicken Sticks w/ Dipping Sauces Seasoned Potato Wedges Glazed Carrots Graham Crackers Wide Variety Fresh Fruit   Wednesday, Sept. 26 No School—Yom Kippur         Cheese Nachos Salsa Marinated Cucumber Salad Lemon Zest Broccoli Wide Variety Fresh Fruit     Popcorn Chicken Bites Cranberry Sauce Steamy Mashed Potatoes Marinated Broccoli Salad Fresh Veggie Stix / Dips Wide Variety Fresh Fruit Pasta with Italian Meatballs Parmesan Cheese Lite Italian Romaine Sld Whole Wheat Dinner Roll Wide Variety Fresh Fruit No School—Yom Kippur Muncho Nachos (seasoned beef, cheese sauce…

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Needham Lunch Menus for Sept. 17-21

A look at what's for lunch this week in Needham Public Schools.

School menus for the week of Sept. 16-21 are below. Monthly menus are available on the Nutrition Services page. For Broadmeadow, Eliot, Hillside, Mitchell and Newman No School—Rosh Hashanah     Chicken Patty on a Roll Sweet Potato Fries Marinated Cucumber Salad Wide Variety Fresh Fruit on Whole Wheat Bun Wednesday, Sept. 19 Homemade Cheese Pizza Mixed Salad Greens 5 Lite Dressing Choices Fresh Veggie Stix / Dips Wide Variety Fresh Fruit Hot Turkey and Cheese on Goldfish Bread Three Bean Salad Potato Smiles Fresh Veggie Stix / Dips Wide Variety Fresh Fruit     No School—Rosh Hashanah       Teriyaki Chicken Tenders Vegetable Egg Roll Steamy Brown Rice Lemon Zest Broccoli Mandarin Orange-Tossed Salad Fortune Cookie Wide Variety Fresh Fruit …

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Needham Lunch Menus for Sept. 10-14

A look at what's for lunch this week in Needham Public Schools.

School menus for the week of Sept. 6-7 are below. Monthly menus are available on the Nutrition Services page. For Broadmeadow, Eliot, Hillside, Mitchell and Newman Baked Chicken Nuggets Dipping Sauces Seasoned Pasta Savory Green Beans Creamy Broccoli Salad Wide Variety Fresh Fruit Meatball Sub Parmesan Cheese Sweet Corn Lite Caesar Salad Wide Variety Fresh Fruit Wednesday, Sept. 12 Individual Pan Pizza Lite Italian Romaine Sld Fresh Veggie Stix / Dips Homemade Apple Crisp Wide Variety Fresh Fruit Egg McNeedham w/ Bacon and Cheese on English Muffin Hash Brown Potatoes Sweet Corn & Bean Salad Fruit Juice Wide Variety Fresh Fruit     Baked Chicken Nuggets Dipping Sauces Cranberry Sauce Steamy Mashed Potatoes Glazed Carrots Fresh Veggie Stix…

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Back To School: Lunch Menus for Sept. 6-7

A quick guide to school lunch prices and a look at the menu for the first week of school.

Needham Public Schools are back in session. School lunch prices remain the same as last year, and include: A new application for free and reduced meals will be sent home with students at the beginning of school. Students who were eligible for this program last year will remain eligible into October until the new application is completed. Parents should have received their child’s lunch account balances and PINs by mail toward the end of August. For more information about lunch accounts, visit the Nutrition Services page on the district website. This year, Needham schools are following new food regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Read more about these rules in this column from NPS Nutrition Services Director Ruth Griffin. …

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New School Food Rules: What You Should Know

This article was submitted by Needham Public Schools Nutrition Services Director Ruth Griffin.

By Ruth Griffin, RD, SNS Submitted by the Needham Public Health Department As students return to school this fall, school cafeterias across America will be doing things a little differently as they prepare to feed “their kids” and strive to meet tough new federal nutrition standards for school meals.  The new USDA standards are required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and are based on research and current understanding of human nutrition and prevention of diseases and health conditions including obesity. The last update to school meals standards was over 15 years ago. This is a good thing for the children in our country! What's different? In a nutshell, the school lunch tray should now look a lot like the new USDA’s “MyPlate”—…

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Raising Needham

Raising Needham: My Lunch Box Dilemma

A week in the life of a kindergartener's lunch box can go from joyful optimism to disheartened frustration in the snap of a lid.

  This is not an article about public school lunch options, pink slime or how to pick the trendiest lunch boxes for your child. This is an article about the ups and downs of what you put in your child’s lunch box day in and day out and the roller coaster ride that ensues.  Monday It’s Monday morning and I’m ready! A restful family weekend has renewed my spirits and I am ready to tackle my daily dilemma: what to pack in my daughter’s lunch box. I have a refrigerator full of interesting and healthy things and my creative juices are flowing. I smile at my daughter with a sense of determination. I am going to get it right today! Her lunch box will come home empty; I am sure of it. With an article about creative ways to fill your child’s lunch …

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Lollie Davis Weeks

9:17 am on Thursday, April 26, 2012

Great post - that lunchbox can be such a morning challenge, and it always nice to know we are not alone in our frustration. I too struggled at first with what to pack each day, but things have gotten better now that I include my boys (4.5 & 6.5) in the snack & lunch packing process. I periodically take them on a "school grocery" trip where we discuss & select things for the "lunch pantry". Each …   more ›

High Rock School First in Massachusetts To Receive Prestigious Health Award

Healthier US School Challenge Gold of Distinction Award comes with accolades from First Lady Michelle Obama

When High Rock School Principal Jessica Downey received a plain white envelope bearing a return address from The White House a few weeks ago, she was admittedly skeptical. “My first reaction was, OK, what scam is this?” Downey recalled. Even after she opened the envelope and found a letter inside from United States First Lady Michelle Obama, Downey was not convinced it was real. Until she looked closer. “I still wasn’t believing that it was Michelle Obama. I thought, oh, somebody was just stamping her name, until I turned it over and I could see her ink through the back [of the paper],” Downey said. The principal's revelation was shared as part of a ceremony held Thursday, March 15 in the High Rock School cafeteria celebrating High Rock …

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Audra Myerberg

9:17 pm on Sunday, March 18, 2012

Wow, well done and a great example of what can be done!   more ›

School Lunches to Go Up 30 Cents

Needham School Committee approved a list of fee changes at their July 12 meeting.

Needham students will pay about 30 cents more per meal for school lunches in the coming school year. Meanwhile, Needham High School students will pay less for parking and parents will see a few other fee changes following the Needham Public Schools School Committee’s approval Tuesday evening. Down from seven to five members for their only July meeting, the board met at Broadmeadow Elementary School to address a short agenda that took less than an hour to resolve. Among those items was the approval of revolving fund fee changes for the 2011-12 school year. Following a discussion of the changes at their June 21 meeting, the board had little to say about them on Tuesday, passing the measure with a 5-0 vote. Programs affected by the fee …

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