We’ll have the Southern Burger, please. Wednesdays mean Gourmet Burger Day at GCPS high schools, with options like this Southern classic dressed up with pimento cheese and crispy green tomatoes. Other palate-pleasers include the Smokehouse Burger and the Mushroom Burger.
We’ll take one of those and one of those, and that looks good, too! The list of new menu items in Gwinnett cafeterias reads like the offerings for your favorite quick-serve and fast-casual restaurants… Café chicken minis on Parker House rolls, chopped salads, gourmet burgers, deep dish and French bread pizza, stuffed pasta shells, baked chicken wings, and lemongrass Thai bowls.
Each year, the district adds new dishes to the cafeteria line, reflecting student feedback from focus groups and some of the popular menu trends that families see when they eat out. From taste-alike chicken sandwiches and seasonal drinks to Georgia-grown fruits and vegetables, GCPS’ award-winning School Nutrition Program (SNP) provides tasty and nutritious meals to our students, staff, and visitors each day at economical prices.
And, unlike grocery stores and local eateries, the school district continues to hold the line on school meal prices again this year: $1.50 for breakfast ($.30 reduced price), $2.25 for ES lunch and $2.50 for MS and HS lunch ($.40 reduced price). Adult prices are $1.75 for breakfast and $3.00 for lunch.
With more sophisticated palates and a taste for bold, new flavors, our students are quick to line up for meals with international flair (and spice), but also are happy to see their comfort-food favorites like mac and cheese, tater tots, and brunch for lunch. “Food reviews” on the SNP Instagram page are positive for the new menu items… “#chickenalfredo, it did not disappoint,” said one student. And Café Manager Tammy Baylor says “Students at Mill Creek love the Gourmet Burgers!”
During the fall months, high schoolers will be able to order a pumpkin spice smoothie, and they can jump-start their day with an iced coffee. On World School Milk Day (Sept. 25), cereal milk pudding will be a special treat on the menu at all levels, while high school Cafés will show a little love on Valentine’s Day with strawberry shortcake on the menu.
Families have two options for finding the week’s meal offerings—check out school-specific menus on the Nutrislice web page, or download the Nutrislice menu app from Google Play or the iTunes App Store. MyPaymentsPlus allows families to manage a student's meal account online, making deposits and create settings to auto-replenish a student’s account or receive reminders when the balance is low. Click here for an application for free- and reduced-price school meals.
And those menus are filled with familiar brands that families know and trust, like Tyson, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Land O’ Lakes, and many more. Throughout the year, our School Cafés take advantage of available local produce to cook up new dishes for our students to try through our Farm to School program. Last year, GCPS cafeterias served nearly 12 million servings of regionally and Georgia-grown produce, including pumpkins, strawberries, cucumbers, green beans, watermelon, carrots, and apples! Those local fruits and veggies were part of more than 20.2 million lunches and 10.5 million breakfasts served to GCPS students during the 2018-19 school year!
That’s Café Gwinnett… Energizing our Future!
Follow Gwinnett’s School Nutrition Program @CafeGwinnett on Facebook and Instagram for the latest on menus, special treats, and Insta-worthy #foodbeautyshots!
#cafegwinnett#realschoolfood#energizingourfuture#eatwithus#itsallaboutflavor#fuelingGa# schoolmealsrock#FarmToSchool
