Governor Kristi Noem hates free lunches for kids, especially kids who aren’t American. Aberdeen parents don’t mind free school lunches, but a year of free food hasn’t led to a run on the cafeteria stocks.
As Aberdeen Central School District food service director Susan Nash explained to the school board Monday in her summary of school food operations amidst the pandemic, full USDA subsidization to make school meals free for all students did not prompt a surge in school lunch demand. Nash says many families didn’t feel comfortable getting food prepared elsewhere and stuck with food prepared at home.
Nash’s presentation begins around 9:30; Nash’s response to a question about demand comes shortly after 25:00:
Coronavirus protocols actually improved one school lunch staple, the tater tot hotdish. Now you wouldn’t think tater tot hotdish could get any better, but Nash expressed her professional distaste for the traditional big old plop of hotdish spooned onto each student’s tray. Preparing individual servings in plastic containers allows for better portion control—everybody gets the same amount. The single-serving packages also allow the cooks to make a better-looking product, as they can layer the hotdish components and place those tasty tots—or “puzzle fries” as our tater bits are now known—on top for optimum golden brown crispiness.
Tater tot hotdish: prettier, crispier, and, for a few more weeks, at least, free at Aberdeen schools. See—the pandemic hasn’t been all bad.
Students and staff at an Oklahoma elementary school lined the hallways to cheer for their school cafeteria manager who passed her test to become a U.S. citizen.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmile/comments/ms6esp/students_and_staff_at_an_oklahoma_elementary/
Portion control is fine but I hate that individual plastic containers will be used. We need to stop using so much plastic and switch to compostable alternatives like cardboard (without a chemical coating) or washable, reusable glass.