We've all been hearing for months that upon Dallas Independent School District students' return to school next week, they'd find among their lunchtime offerings considerably healthier dishes than the slim pickings of yore. But with first bell but days away, and not much time before that ol' game of "Bring or Buy" breaks out at our house, I'd yet see the menu -- Food & Child Nutrition Services still has last fall's menu on its website. So I scouted around and begged the lunch lady to see sneak a peek at this year's edibles, and lo and behold it appeared in the Unfair Park lunch box moments ago.
Since many of you may also need to know what the new year brings nutritionally, the menus for all grade levels follow. And, indeed, there's nary a grilled cheese amongst the offerings. You'll find instead pizza on whole-grain crust, multiple salad offerings, a hummus veggie plate with whole-grain flatbread, a black-bean burger, chili-lime cucumbers, chicken and beef noodle bowls and other less-familiars amongst some standbys.
Also on the other side, some notes from the district about how and why it's made the menu changes -- as in, "We anticipate that parents will feel good about the new menu featuring wholesome and nutrient rich foods. At the same time, we hope that students will learn how to make healthier choices and enjoy dining in their school cafeteria." In all, very impressive. Still we know of one Friend of Unfair Park who'd really like to see a salad bar on the menu.