Beginning with development of an institutional food policy through a collaborative process engaging school leadership, faculty, parents and students, we can help you create a comprehensive and successful food program aligned with your school’s mission and values. Some of the ways Fresh Advantage can assist your school are:
Dining Service Operation Assessment:
- Oversight of food service management company selection process via competitive bid process or sole source selection,
- Functionality and design of the kitchen, competencies/training of food service staff, menu design, ordering and service line systems, diversification of procurement system with local and regional sourcing options.
- Dining area design, marketing and educational materials to complement menu items, for example “Know your Farmer; Know your Food” theme to explain the sourcing of ingredients via simple, visually engaging graphics.
- Evaluation and student/faculty satisfaction surveys
Curriculum Enhancements, After School Activities; Parental Engagement
- Development of a learning/culinary garden—an extension of science and other classes
- Identification, together with faculty and leadership, of opportunities to add “food learning content” to specific subject areas such as science/environmental studies, math, history, economics and geography. Organization of field trips to complement curricula additions.
- Organization of clubs and after school activities that offer gardening and cooking/culinary skill experience, correlated with “food learning content” added into specific classes/curricula.
Codman Academy Charter Public School
Boston, MA
“Marydale understands that the dining room and kitchen in a school are critical educational spaces, and with her guidance, we have built a Food Services program that is a model for what is possible in a public school. Located within a community health center, the quality and appeal of our school’s from scratch meals is so high that staff of both the school and health center choose to patronize our dining hall daily. Students receive at least 2 fruits and fresh salad daily. Marydale’s comprehensive, holistic approach dovetailed well with our K1-12 curriculum and award-winning Junk Food Free policy. She guided us through solving logistical problems such as food storage, helped us meet state and federal guidelines while still providing appealing menus, and had numerous suggestions on how to incorporate healthy food into subject areas and the culture of our school.”
Republic Management Corporation
“Institutional food service is undergoing dramatic change consistent with the national movement to create a better, more sustainable food system. No longer just a necessary “ancillary service”, the role and value of wholesome food in the life of an organization, especially schools, must go beyond the cafeteria line and become part of the learning culture. Nobody understands this better than Fresh Advantage’s founder, Marydale DeBor, who has been “ahead of the curve” in her work to transform institutional food service. A skilled collaborator, she understands how to make the essential functions of food service run smoothly, while building engagement and opportunity for education about the central, multi-faceted role that food plays in society with all stakeholders in the school environment: students, faculty, administration and parents.”