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.