School children throughout the Bay Area are getting ready to go back to school in just a matter of weeks and for many, their favorite subject is lunch.
San Jose’s Oak Grove School District is now letting students make the decisions when it comes to what they want on the menu.
“We have a new item. Gobi masala. It’s the same sauce with roasted cauliflower,” Charice Gulizia, who calls herself a Costco sampler presenter.
The school nutrition consultant is giving children samples of non-traditional foods they might like this school year.
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Gobi masala comes with a vegetable the children might not have eaten before.
“We’re trying to expand our options for the fall session. And today we tried indian cuisine. We expose the kids to tikka masala,” she said.
At Oak Grove, children are the boss. They decide what stays on or off the lunch menu.
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“You know, they’re our customers so we want to provide them with the food that they really love and that they want,” said Terri Anaya, the chief nutrition manager.
“If it doesn’t have an 80% approval rating, we’re not going to put it on our menu,” said Gulizia.
Food options that get the thumbs down either get tweaked, or they’re dropped from the list.
One of those items is the roasted garbanzo in a gravy sauce. And like every school district, the lunches have to meet strict state and federal guidelines.
