Fulton County Schools lunch menu going gourmet with Student Choice Food Challenge

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County Schools’ lunch menu is getting ready to graduate from “so passé” to acing the taste test.

The food at Alpharetta’s Manning Oaks Elementary is part of the Fulton County School system’s 5th Student Choice Food Challenge.

For this year’s contest, Chef Reggie Sloan is serving up healthy food, cooked from scratch and meant to give students more flavor than in the days of pre-packaged meals.

Sloan’s efforts are aimed at making the food healthier, and gourmet.

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Fulton County fourth graders Michael Taiwo and Olive Pastore are firm believers in reading, writing, and arithmetic. But they also care about what goes on in the school lunchroom.

“Ooh! The cafeteria is amazing,” Taiwo told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.

They’re excited for new food options in the cafeteria, as long as the options pass the taste test.

“If it doesn’t taste good, they’re not going to want to eat it. We need to eat our veggies to stay strong,” Pastore said.

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Pastore is wise beyond her years, which is why she and more than four dozen classmates are participating in the Student Choice Food Challenge.

Chef Sloan is pushing for healthier, tastier choices for students.

“Broccoli, carrots, cucumbers. Give me one more,” Sloan asked the kids while speaking with Channel 2 Action News.

Part of the Sloan’s effort includes a charming rhyme.

“You have to say the whole thing,” Sloan said. “Chef Reggie that rhymes with veggie!”

The chef has created an all new menu for Fulton County’s 95 public school kitches, and it’s grade-A gourmet.

The days of pre-packaged meals heated up by lunch lunch ladies are gone.

“Gone! Gone. We’re moving back to the ‘scratch’ methods,” Executive Director of School Nutrition Alyssia Wright said.

Made from scratch, just like grandma used to make, no disrespect to grandma if some if it tastes even better, even while it’s healthier than ever.

The kids have tasted the new food options and get to vote on what tasted best. Dishes with the most votes will end up served at school.

Petersen asked Taiwo if he felt pressure about what to vote for.

“Not at all,” Taiwo said.

A group of middle and high school students were also at school district headquarters on Friday for the taste test. The best meals will be served up in January.

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