USDA Honors Somis School for Its Lunch Program

Somis Elementary School children not only eat healthy lunches, but they also decide what items will be on the menu.

And because they have been doing such a good job, the school has been recognized by the U. S. Department of Agriculture with a Team Nutrition Achievement Award for its lunch program.

“I was surprised because I didn’t think anyone really noticed that we were doing this,” said cafeteria manager Theresa Pellerino, who enrolled the school in the program three years ago.

Nearly 600 schools statewide participate in the Team Nutrition Program, but only 51 were recognized for serving healthier school meals.

Most of the dishes that Pellerino serves are cooked from scratch, including spaghetti, tacos and rice.

“I’m always out there asking the students what they like and what they don’t like and why they don’t like it,” she said. “I also go into the classrooms and let them make up their own menu for certain days. Then we indicate on the menu whose class made it up.”

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Pellerino said she tries to have at least one class each week decide what will be for lunch. She will instruct the students how each food group--fruits, vegetables, bread, meat and dairy--must be represented and then let them create their own menu.

“It makes them more aware of good foods because they’re involved in the process,” Pellerino said.

The Somis students’ favorite lunch is cheese or pepperoni pizza. And taco salad--with meat, beans, lettuce, cheese and tortilla chips--runs a close second.

The USDA established the Team Nutrition Program to assist schools in implementing new nutrition standards, which include a diet high in fruits and vegetables with no more than 30% of calories from fat. The program also provides materials for the classroom and home to encourage children and family members to make healthier choices.

About 230 of the 300 students at the school, which covers kindergarten through eighth grade, get their lunch daily from the cafeteria.

Three seventh-grade student helpers come in each day to serve meals, sell snacks, collect lunch cards and wash dishes in exchange for free lunch, ice cream and an hour away from class.

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“I could not do this program without those kids,” Pellerino said.

And her advice to other cafeteria managers?

“Listen to the kids,” she said. “If they like it, serve it. If they don’t, change it.”