Behind the scenes of PSUSD’s first year of free student meals

On July 9, Palm Springs Unified School District announced a major policy change. Starting in the 2018-19 school year, all district students would have the chance to have breakfast and lunch entirely free of charge.

“The Board of Education is excited about expanding the school nutrition program to include ALL of our students,” said President James Williamson. “A child who is hungry cannot learn. The District is committed to doing anything we can to ensure a supportive learning environment.”

The major switch will remain in effect for the next four years and came as the result of a change to the District’s policy relating to the National School Lunch/School Breakfast Programs.

Across the district, that totals out to approximately 15,000 to 20,000 meals each day. But the mass-production doesn’t jeopardize taste, according to Michelle Poirier, the Supervisor for PSUSD’s Central Kitchen Operations.

“I really think the kids are going to enjoy their lunch a lot more this year than last year,” said Poirier.

Deciding on the new menu selection required quite some effort; over 150 taste tests were conducted with students to make the ultimate decision on the new menu items.

But the perks of the new program don’t stop at cost or flavor-catering. PSUSD also provides an online resource which will allow students with dietary restrictions to fine-tune their food selections before even walking into the cafeteria.

If a student is lactose-intolerant, for example, they can select milk as a restriction on through the resource page, then all menu items containing milk would be removed from their eligible breakfast or lunch selection.

Watch Madison Weil’s full story on this new program on KESQ News Channel 3 at 5 p.m., and CBS Local 2 at 5:30.