One of the Pressing Issues at St. Clare of Assisi School This Year Is What to Do About

November 12, 2017

One of the pressing issues at St. Clare of Assisi School this year is what to do about our hot lunch program. Declining sales led the company that provides hot lunches, Food Service Consultants (FSC), to transition us to a satellite cafeteria instead of a traditional hot lunch program. That means that some of the food is prepared at St. Alban Roe and transported here, some of the food is prepared at SCA, the number of food options for the kids has become quite limited, and the sales have continued to decline. The conundrum has many layers…some SCA families depend upon the hot lunch program for their kids; some families are unhappy with the current FSC food offerings, FSC wants to keep our business; we want to keep a hot lunch program; FSC has gone from two employees at SCA to just one employee; it takes more SCA volunteers than ever to keep things running smoothly in the cafeteria; and FSC must at least break even financially to remain at St. Clare.

One of the true bright spots in our school cafeteria is our volunteer fantastique, Mrs. RitaMilke, fondly known to the kids as “Miss Rita.” She dropped like an angel from heaven one day, simply asking if she could help in the school cafeteria two days a week. Miss Rita volunteered at St. Richard School in their cafeteria when her grandchildren attended there, and she has been incredibly helpful here at SCA. Her effervescent smile and her willingness to do whatever it takes is contagious and has brightened everyone’s spirits in our cafeteria. What a blessing we have in Miss Rita!

The good news with our conundrum is that the folks at FSC are willing to make some changes to try and elevate the level of our hot lunch program, a little at a time. Look for some additions to the menu after Christmas Break like hand-made hamburger patties, gourmet Italian salad and fresh berries with vinaigrette salad, hand-breaded chicken breast, and more fresh fruit. I hope that many of you will take advantage of some of the new offerings and we can all work on raising up thehot lunch experience at St. Clare. With enough improvement in sales, we could be looking at having our own SCA-dedicated chef and staff from FSC to prepare from-scratch, healthy, appealing, and delicious hot lunches for our kids by next school year!