School board, staff experience new food service

Thomson Elementary Principal Sandy Hynes looks over the dinner selection at Davison High School, Feb. 1. Photos by Gary Gould DAVISON — Monday night held a lot of choices for members of the Davison Board of Education, administrators and staff. For instance, there was the pressing matter of whether to try the pizza, the subs or the turkey with gravy.

This district’s new food service management company, Chartwell, held a “Lunch for Dinner” program to show the board and staff what a typical meal is like for students at Davison High School.

Chartwell took over management of food service at all Davison schools this fall after the retirement of the program manager and has seen an increase of about 100 hot lunches daily at the high school since taking over.

The company has not only given students more choice, said Karen Haase, district manager for Chartwell’s Great Lakes Region, but it is providing healthier options. “It was a big, big change,” said Haase. “There are no fried foods on the menu, nothing with high sodium. We replaced everything with healthy foods.”

Using the existing food lines in the school cafeteria, Chartwell has set up lines for different types of food. There’s a “Crust and Stuff” line for pizzas, wraps, calzones, pasta and fresh baked breads. There’s also the “Ready Set Deli” line where students can make their own sub sandwiches, “Grab A Stack” for more traditional sandwiches, “Play Bowls” for hot foods served in a bowl and “Casa Amigos” for Mexican food lovers.

The old ala carte line has also been turned into a food stand called Outtakes, where retail foods are sold.

Some board members and staff sampled the pizza while others had a fresh sandwich or wrap made to order.

Superintendent Clay Perkins said not only have the number of students eating school lunches increased, but more kids are also eating breakfast at school now.

“We’re serving more food to more kids each month,” he said.

Haase attributes the growing numbers to students becoming more acclimated to the lines and what is offered.

She also said much of Chartwells success in Davison schools has to do with the district’s willingness to try new things and to accommodate the company’s ideas.

“Not every school district is this innovative,” she said. “Davison has really taken the lead.”

Chartwell services schools, businesses and hospitals across the state including other Genesee County districts such as Clio, Kearsley, Bentley and Grand Blanc.

David Kennedy, a high school student representative on the school board, said he conducted an informal poll among students — at the request of the board — and it showed 100 percent of those surveyed found the food to be better and healthier since Chartwell took over.

The only complaints had to do with the length of lines, which he said have doubled and tripled this year.

“The lines are a little longer, but it’s working itself out,” said David. “We’re in that transition phase right now.”

Haase said as the students learn what is in each line and how the lines move, she expects the problems to eventually be resolved.