Evident by the four lunch lines, morning breakfast options, and the newly reopened C-Store in front of the library, food is one of the most important factors of a good school day. However, keeping food choices to federal nutrition standards, accommodating as many students as possible, and serving food that is enjoyed by everyone is quite the challenge.
As of the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, the Bowie cafeteria has been serving new meals to students in both its breakfast and lunch lines. This initiative by the AISD Food Service Department comes after students’ input for both new meals and accommodating alternatives to existing ones. These changes come as an attempt to get more students aware of their food options and clear up old misconceptions about school meals.
“We really try to go above and beyond to give the tastiest food, the healthiest food that we can to kids,” service manager Lindsey Bradley said. “But also food that you guys want to eat, and that’s appetizing.”
The cafeteria has made a list of improvements to create a better experience eating from the school’s lunch lines. Besides new menu items, students can now share their thoughts with the school and request new dishes. This gives students more control over their options.
“We started getting feedback from students that were like, ‘This isn’t so great, can we get a new pizza?’ and that’s an instance of an ask that we were able to fulfill,” said Bradley. “We listen to the feedback that students give us and we really take that into consideration when we’re sourcing our food.”
The district procurement team sources food locally from over 60 different vendors. This gives the school the freedom to choose the food they want and adds variety to the menu. New global flavors, including orange chicken with fried rice, pork carnitas, and updated fish tacos, have replaced the old Aisan-inspired bistro line.
“We are seeing across the district that more students are requesting plant-based options,” said Bradley. “We really are trying to be as accommodating as we can to all of our students.”
This push has influenced the creation of vegan options for chicken dishes and the new Mediterranean bowl, along with vegetables now being cooked in vegan butter and many other changes.
Additional changes include chocolate milk served every day, new mango and cherry-lime flavored Izze drinks, vanilla cold brew coffee offered in the morning, sandwiches and
wraps served daily, and new fish tacos with mango pico de gallo.
“Welcome one and all to our cafeteria for our new and exciting lunches. We have lots to offer, from Izze drinks to cookies and chips all the way to our fiesta lines and our buffalo chicken sandwiches,” food service manager Laurie Womble said. “We hope to see you soon.”
To check our review of the new cafeteria foods, click here!
