An idea from a Metea Valley High School student’s senior inquiry project could become the newest evolution of food service in Indian Prairie School District 204.
The idea is called a “power snack,” and it’s set to be piloted at Metea in the coming months.
The power snack would allow students — especially those staying after school for athletics or activities — a chance to buy something more nutritious than they could find from a vending machine, said Ron Johnson, the district’s director of support operations, during Monday’s school board meeting.
IPSD evaluating student’s idea for after-school nutrition
Working with the district’s food service vendor, Organic Life, Johnson said Metea’s cafeteria will begin to offer power snack options this spring. The plan is to make the snacks free at first, while experimenting to find menu options and price points that would work best.
Johnson said he started looking into the feasibility of the power snack idea after hearing it from a Metea student during a presentation made by students in the senior inquiry class earlier this month. He said the student, a soccer player, has become passionate about the idea and is excited to see it move into a testing phase.
School board President Laurie Donahue said she attended the senior inquiry presentation and spoke with the student as well.
“I am absolutely thrilled that you picked up on that,” Donahue told Johnson about the power snack pilot program. “This was obviously a passion topic for him. It’s something that’s unique that we really should look at.”
Pilot to examine how to price, fund new snack option
An example of a power snack could be something like a chicken wrap or a salad, along with fruit and a healthy drink, Johnson said.
An after-school food option such as this would not be covered under the National School Lunch Program, which means there wouldn’t be any subsidies for providing the food. If the district chooses to make the power snack a permanent offering, Johnson said officials could investigate ways to help cover the cost for students who receive free or reduced-price lunches.
School lunch profits could supplement power snack program
The district’s school meal program, which provides breakfast and lunch and serves roughly 9,500 meals a day, is fully self-sufficient. Johnson described it as a $9 million operation that turns a small profit of about $50,000 a year.
National School Lunch Program requirements mandate that all profits must be returned to support food service. Recent profits have funded new equipment to streamline kitchen operations and make service speedier. But Johnson said future profits also could be used to fund a program like the power snack, if it proves to be a desired option.
“I’m so excited about that,” school board member Catey Genc said. “We probably all are, for our student athletes and performers.”
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