Cafeteria

The impact of COVID 19 on the Café Services for the time being should be minimal, and we have tried to focus on what the kids love to eat when creating menus for an enjoyable dining experience.

BCA School Food Services participates in the USDA National School Lunch Program, Breakfast Program, USDA Brown Box Foods, and FAVORS program. We plan menus that include Louisiana’s Harvest of the Month and with the School Victory Garden harvest of the Month Program. We offer local items through the Fresh Fruits and veggie program (FAVORS) program whenever possible, provide local milk from within the state, and purchase produce from local farmers when in season.

BCA Cafeteria Services using Smarter Lunchroom techniques along with the Healthier Snack and School Lunch programs to promote healthy eating habits. BCA Cafeteria Services provides nutritious after-school snacks to students participating in the Century 21 “After School Activities” program in accordance with the LA Fit Kids Healthy School Snacks program.

Students have a wide variety of healthy options to choose from to make healthy choices daily, including two to three fresh fruit options, fresh veggie cups, and side salads with fat-free dressings. We serve lean meats, whole grains and fat-free milk options at each meal service also. Grades 4-8 have a salad bar option to choose from where we repurpose produce leftovers to make healthy soup recipes. All recipes used in menu items are reduced sodium to no sodium and reduced sugars to no added sugars. We offer a flavor station at the POS to let students enhance the flavors of their meals.

Students are also encouraged to try a different menu. We offer TryDay Friday tastings for the Harvest of the Month program featuring locally grown veggies as well as the BCA Victory Garden Harvests of the Month (HOM) program. Students get to try veggies in ways that they may not be accustomed to. HOM recipe cards, nutrition facts, and information about where the vegetable derives from and how its nutritional components impact the body can be found here on the website. 

The Eagle’s Way café recycles all vegetation clippings from the kitchen, students’ meals and uses compostable trays in conjunction with the BCA’s sustainability efforts and encourages students to recycle any plastic bottles or uneaten portions of fruit and veggies. Vegetation and trays are composted in the BCA Victory Garden’s composting bin and students are encouraged and taught to be guardians of the Earth through recycling efforts all around the school.

We hope to expand on our efforts with the revitalization of our greenhouse. Our goals are to be able to grow hydroponic lettuce and tomatoes that will produce enough lettuce to feed all of our students daily and to also sell in a retail environment to optimize sustainability in our school lunch program.