School lunch professionals from across the Cornhusker State came to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s East Campus June 2-6 to learn more about how to create more efficient school kitchens and healthier meals for its kids.

The Child Nutrition Training Academy, hosted by the university’s Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management program in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Education, includes sessions on topics like nutrition, food safety, management and menu planning, as well as lab sessions, where participants got to prepare some simple recipes from a variety of flavor profiles.

“We’re always going to find a way to serve lunch,” said Renee Cornett, food and nutrition services operations manager for Gretna Public Schools. “Even for simple recipes, if you learn a faster way or a way to organize your kitchen, once in a while you can have (something different).”

Ajai Ammachathram, associate professor and program director of Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management, said the goal of the week-long workshop is to help the 50-plus attendees learn practical skills, understand resources and gain ideas for how to utilize nutritious ingredients in multiple ways to create varied menus.

“It gives them the tools they need to make healthy, tasty meals while staying on top of all the rules,” he said. “The training ensures that staff are not only compliant with federal and state regulations but are also empowered to create appealing, nutritious meals that support student health and learning.”

Ammachathram said providing training in these areas and ways to incorporate nutrient-dense, fresh items in Nebraska students’ meals boosts academic performance, improves mood and behavior in the classroom and encourages lifelong healthy eating habits.

“When kids eat fresh, nutritious food, they feel better, focus more, and do better in school,” he said. “It helps their bodies and brains grow strong. Plus, when meals look and taste good, kids are more likely to eat them—and that means fewer hungry students and happier classrooms.”

Brenda Windmuller, a consultant for the workshop who led the cooking lesson on Latin American dishes on June 4, said she wanted to offer small, manageable changes the participants might be able to make in their schools. The recipes were designed to demonstrate ways, for example, to substitute fresher ingredients when possible while still complying with regulations on school menus.

“They would make their own seasoning blend instead of going to the store and buying something premade that has a lot of sodium in it, or using fresh limes instead of buying lime juice,” Windmuller said.

Food professionals in all areas are looking for ways to incorporate more cooking from scratch, Windmuller said, in part because it is the best way to ensure more nutrient-rich ingredients, as opposed to pre-prepared items that might be microwaved or reheated.

“They’re convenient but they come with extra preservatives like sodium, which we know is not a healthy lifestyle,” Windmuller said. “By teaching these skills, how to cut fresh fruits and vegetables, how to source locally, it all plays together.”

Dusty Stevens, food service director for Superior Public Schools, said she appreciated that the recipes from the lab sessions were created with a school kitchen setting in mind. For Stevens, the information about menu planning was some of the most valuable. Most schools struggle with budget and staffing shortages in their kitchens, she said, and she said the workshop helps participants make the most of their staff and funds while still providing meals the students want to eat.

“They’re not just walking into the lunchroom every day and it’s exactly the same,” she said. “It’s recipes for schools specifically, because there’s a lot of recipes we’d love to try but sitting down and formulating it properly is daunting.”

Learning the best ways to source and prepare fresh ingredients has educational benefits to kids along with the nutritional ones. Proper preparation results in better flavor, so kids understand what healthy foods they like to eat but also what those foods are supposed to taste like, and they’ll be more likely to continue to eat those foods.

“If they get a hard cantaloupe, they’ll know, ‘That one wasn’t as good but I still like cantaloupe,’” Cornett said.

Cornett said the opportunity to connect with other school lunch professionals was one of the most valuable parts of the experience. She and another attendee shared workarounds and tips for a software both districts used.

“You have a problem and they’ve found a different solution or another approach, so that’s really useful,” Cornett said. “(They might have) different ways of packaging things we haven’t thought of.”

Stevens said even simply having the support of other professionals who deal with the same problems is helpful.

“You learn so much from your peers,” Stevens said.