In East Rockaway schools, the district’s standard for food service goes beyond state and federal regulations, steering away from frozen food and aiming to source products locally, creating a chain of deliberate meal planning for K-12 breakfast and lunch.
At Rhame Ave Elementary School, the kitchen staff starts prepping meals at 7 a.m. for 180 students on average: making salads, pizzas and a variety of menu items from scratch.
Kerri O'Donnell, the General Manager at Aramark, East Rockaway’s food service vendor, oversees the daily operations at the school’s cafeteria. O'Donnell, who is also a registered dietitian, said her work of instilling healthy, balanced eating habits is particularly significant for the district’s youngest students.
“Having the opportunity to introduce foods that the kids might not see at home is really the most rewarding,” O’Donnell said. “Especially when they try something, and they love it.”
The kitchen operates on a tight schedule, with two employees handling the kitchen duties, managing everything from filling sinks to cooking meals and keeping the kitchen spotless, she said.
Deliveries arrive almost every day: sourcing bread from nearby bakeries, milk from upstate farms, while keeping name-brand items like Tyson chicken, Eggo waffles and Heinz products in the rotation.
According to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, over 40% of school districts in the state have embraced Farm-to-School initiatives, connecting local farmers with school cafeterias to provide fresh, locally grown produce and other foods.
O’Donnell said Aramark and East Rockaway want to expand its local food sourcing, and hope to grow partnerships, particularly with nearby towns and villages.
The cafeteria at Rhame Avenue Elementary adheres to strict nutrition standards set by the East Rockaway School District to ensure that meals are both healthy and balanced, O’Donnell said.
These guidelines align with federal regulations for the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.
For example, the East Rockaway School District 2023-2024 Nutrition Standards for School Meal Programs reads that all grains served must be whole grain-rich, and vegetables are carefully selected to meet specific subgroups, such as dark green, red/orange, and legumes.
For breakfast, vegetables can be substituted for fruits, but the first two cups of such substitutions must come from nutrient-dense vegetable subgroups.
To further ensure nutritional quality, all fluid milk served is low-fat or fat-free, and meals are designed to meet precise calorie requirements, with a focus on limiting discretionary sources of added sugars and fats.
“It can be extremely complicated,” O'Donnell said. “People can think ‘Oh, you’re just serving lunch,’ but we want to make sure we’re giving children the high-quality food that meets all the regulations,” O’Donnell said.
Data from recent studies reinforce the importance of school-provided meals in contributing to students’ overall diet quality. A 2021 school meal participation study by Sarah Forrestal reports that most school meals in the U.S. scored high on the Healthy Eating Index, particularly for components like fruit, dairy, and whole grains: averaging scores between 79 percent and 81 percent. In comparison, non-school meals scored much lower, averaging between 55 percent and 57 percent.
The meal programs at East Rockaway schools would likely have a score 93 out of 100 on the Healthy Eating Index, taking the average of the Herald’s calculation, using the HEI formula, the East Rockaway School District’s 2023-2024 Nutrition Standards for School Meal Programs and the emphasis on local food sources.
The score indicates a good diet quality, and the meals offered show a strong adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, particularly in areas like dairy, whole grains and added sugars. Since the school caters to young children’s palettes, and works under budget restrictions, seafood and plant-based proteins categories received the lowest scores.
O'Donnell and her team pay close attention to what the students enjoy and adjust the menu accordingly. They track participation daily, and if a new menu item doesn’t receive positive feedback after being offered three times, it’s removed. The team also meets with students to get direct input on what they’d like to see on the menu, ensuring the food is both appealing and nutritious.
The goal, she says, is to provide children with food that fuels both their bodies and minds.
For students at Rhame Ave, pizza day is one of the most popular meals, with students eagerly awaiting it every Monday and Wednesday. The school’s “brunch for lunch” on Fridays is another student favorite.
Lauren Trigo, a food service supervisor for East Rockaway schools said she remembers her lunches at schools: frozen rectangle pizzas and pre-packaged brownies with cosmic-inspired sprinkles.
Forging a new path of what school meals can and should look like, she said, benefits students’ lives more than previously considered.
“If you don’t have a full stomach, you’re not focusing in school,” Trigo said. “That’s a big factor in getting good grades: having your mind sharp.”