LONE TREE, Iowa – Budget cuts are pushing schools across Iowa to get creative with student meals, and Lone Tree School District has turned to homemade food to save money.
Food service director Erik Isenhour said he and his staff have swapped out many prepackaged meals and ingredients for freshly prepared options like lasagna, beef stroganoff, and beef tacos, which cost less. Lone Tree had expected about $20,000 in federal grant money this year, but the grants were cut, forcing the switch.
Preparing meals from scratch is cheaper but more time-consuming. “I’m lucky to have a great staff. It’s a lot on my lunch ladies and they all rock it,” Isenhour said. “It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of buy in.”
On Thursday, Isenhour served beef tacos, with his staff cooking all the meat that morning—something that had been pre-cooked in previous years. He said students are starting to notice the change. “One of the students asked ‘are you cooking all that meat from scratch,’ it’s like yeah, we do this every day,” Isenhour said.
In just the first month of the school year, the homemade approach is saving costs and increasing participation. Last year the school served 250 to 275 students daily; this year that number is 300 to 325.
Isenhour said students are responding positively. “The other day we served beef stroganoff, a lot of the students came through and said ‘this reminds me of something my mom would make at home.’ That’s what we’re really trying to get to, things that they recognize, things that they like and enjoy.”
What started as a cost-saving measure after grant losses has quickly become a way to serve healthier, more familiar meals to students.
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