It is hard to believe that three quarters have past already this school year and our focus is now on the 2010-2011 year and the continued changes we are introducing to the lunch program in District 49. We have themed the changes we are making in the lunch program: "Food Should be Simple". With that as our target the nutrition department has spent several hours over the past couple of months researching the effects of food additives like high fructose corn syrup (hfcs), food color additives, sugars, and sugar supplements on a students ability to learn effec-tively. We have also been putting our energies to locating food suppliers in the region that can provide us with high quality natural products that will still be cost affordable for use in the lunch program. We are also looking for products that have not been coated in oil to give them a "fried" like appearance. Please see our web page for more information on our program and links to supporting web sites.

These changes to our program started three years ago when we stopped deep frying foods and sold off the fryers. Next we removed items like pretzels and cheese from the lunch menu. One of the recent changes to the lunch menus is the availability of either fresh vegetables or fruit offered daily for all grade levels. We have also removed all dessert items except the very fa-mous cinnamon roll that is paired with our homemade chili. On the secondary level we will no longer sell items like cup-o-noodles or fruit roll-ups. The fruit roll-ups have been replaced by a 100% natural fruit twist.

The Nutrition Department has been very fortunate this past year to have hosted dietetic interns from Penrose-Saint Francis Hospital’s Registered Dietetic program . We have been able to use their knowledge by helping us plan our lunch menus to meet the USDA guidelines that are cur-rently in place. We will be using their expertise over the next year as we introduce our "Food Should be Simple" program to identify foods that are have more complex ingredients in them and remove them from the program.

With our tasking by the federal government to operate as a self-funded enterprise and not re-ceive any funding from the district’s general fund, it is the time of year (after spring break) when we stop allowing charges at the elementary level. This policy is in place to ensure our ability to collect all outstanding balances before the end of the school year, which allows us to maintain an affordable lunch price for all families.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share in your child’s life by serving them a nutri-tious meal.

Best Regards,

Monica Deines-Henderson, SNS

Nutrition Services Director

495-1106