Board OKs Pepsico Franchise for Fast-Food High School Lunches

In the first program of its type in the nation, a food court selling fast food from Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken soon will be set up at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo.

“We see this as an opportunity to provide the kind of school lunch program to which students are attracted,” Capistrano Unified School District spokeswoman Jacqueline Price said. “Our Capo students will become the first in the nation to experience the mini-food-court approach to lunch.”

School district trustees voted unanimously late Monday night to enter into a limited franchise agreement with Pepsico to create the food court.

In addition, the district will continue to offer its usual menu, including salads, yogurt, submarine sandwiches, hamburgers and french fries.

The food court, similar to those found on college campuses, will be open when school starts Sept. 10, officials said. Officials with Taco Bell New Concepts, which is spearheading the pilot program with the district, hope the food court will eventually serve as a model for other high schools throughout the nation.

District officials said that for years they have been trying to come up with ways to keep students on campus for lunch by offering them the food they want. Already the district has arrangements with a few local fast-food restaurant chains to deliver pizza, sandwiches and yogurt to the various campuses at lunchtime.

Setting up a permanent food court service is the next logical step, said Bill Caldwell, food services director.

“It’s really a customer-driven decision,” Caldwell said. “If the students didn’t want it, we wouldn’t be doing it.”

Under the agreement, Taco Bell New Concepts will pick up the estimated $20,000 price tag to set up the food court, and each franchise will train district employees on how to prepare and sell the food. In return for the agreement, the district will pay Pepsico 5% to 10% of actual food sales.

In terms of nutrition, the limited fare that will be offered at the food court stacks up with similar items already being served by the campus catering service, Caldwell said.

But some school nutrition experts worry that given such a fast-food choice each day, students will avoid more well-rounded lunches.

“It’s not like we’re against pizza, it’s just, do you want (students) to have it every day,” said Susan Magrann, a dietitian who is working with 11 Los Angeles County school districts to come up with more nutritious recipes that students will eat. “Is this really the best for the health of the students?”

High school students are especially vulnerable to “poor eating habits” and high-fat diets, said Roberta Peck, a nutrition specialist with the state Department of Education.

In a recent state-sponsored survey of 5,100 high school students, Peck said, more than 36% said they had no vegetables the previous day, and more than 25% said they had no fruit or fruit juices.

“We know that kids, especially adolescents, are very consumer-oriented. Brand names are very important to them,” Peck said. “But at the same time, we want them to have healthier foods.”

Still some said that if the food court attracted students to eat lunch, it would be a welcome addition to the campus.

“I think it’s better that the kids are eating pizza and chicken nuggets rather than skipping lunch because they don’t like what’s being served in the cafeteria,” said parent Barb Beier, who is active in the high school Parent Teacher Student Organization.

Donna Rasmussen, president of the Capistrano Valley High School PTSO, agreed.

“Nutrition is an important aspect, but I think they tend to gravitate toward that food anyway,” she said.

Officials said Taco Bell New Concepts chose the district because it has a good reputation in the food services industry.