Upon visiting a few of our local school cafeterias this week, at lunchtime, I was somewhat stunned by the enticing presentation and plethora of options. There were fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables, a variety of healthy drink choices, and so many delicious main courses. It more closely resembled a restaurant rather than a school cafeteria.

Sodexo’s Hendry Country School Food Service Program is always working towards new and innovative ways to approach meal times for our local students. The 2019-2020 year has apparently knocked those goals out of the park.

By performing extensive research into the current tastes and trends of students from kindergarten through 12th grade, they’ve developed a whole new plan for what used to be notoriously boring cafeteria food. After utilizing actual students during each phase of development, to come up with new and better ways of serving food in school cafeterias, Sodexo chefs then adapted all of the research and into a USDA-compliant customizable menu.

From comfort meals, and world flavors, to unique, interesting flavor combinations. Their new plan incorporates all sorts of research, including preferences for fresh food, with a variety of flavor, and of course creating a fun environment for them to hang out with friends.

The success of Sodexo’s newest meal plan was clearly evident, as I looked around to see that the students were all smiles as they sat down to eat.