At the start of this school year, Pittsford Central School District welcomed Elena Montgomery as the new Director of Food Services. With her extensive food service background, Montgomery brings a fresh perspective while maintaining the District’s longstanding commitment to providing well-balanced and nutritious lunches.
“As I settle into this role, I am committed to making changes that benefit our students and program. I look forward to working with parents and getting students involved,” said Montgomery. “By working together and sharing ideas and information, we can continue to make improvements.”
Exciting Changes in Our School Menus
The menus, which are updated monthly, offer a variety of choices. Quality assurance has also been a focus to ensure consistent experiences throughout the District. This year, Pittsford Schools has started offering food samples to students who want to test new menu options. From popular items like pizza and taco Tuesdays to new additions such as a turkey caprese sandwich, oven-roasted chicken wings with dipping sauces, Philly cheesesteak sandwich, or homestyle chicken noodle soup, the dedicated Food Service team actively works on menu enhancements to include delicious and diverse options.
“My hope is to encourage the students to eat fruits and vegetables. We just started new items like Asian-style carrots and tomato and cucumber salad as vegetable options, as well as different preparation methods to encourage students to take them,” explained Montgomery, “We have a long way to go, but you will continue to see an increase in fresh fruit and vegetable options in our cafeterias.”
Navigating Healthy Choices: Empowering Parents and Students
While we actively work on expanding the menu to include more nutritious choices with a balanced and wholesome dining experience, we understand that students have many options and freedom in the cafeteria, which could create challenges in navigating healthy choices. Ninety-five percent of all baked goods are made with at least 51% whole grain flour, even the donuts and cookies; chips are all baked, not fried; ice cream is all low fat or fat-free; and with some exceptions at our secondary schools, our juice beverages are mostly 100% fruit juice.
Parents/guardians can easily manage and monitor their child’s meal account by accessing MySchoolBucks to view meal purchases and current account balances, providing a convenient way to stay informed. Parents/guardians may also request that certain ala carte items be restricted at any time on their student’s account by contacting the Food Service Staff.
Flexibility in Menu Choices: Beyond Guidelines
The decision to exit the National School Lunch Program in 2013 was driven by valuable input collected from surveys and meetings with students, faculty, and parents, enabling Pittsford Schools to better align with the desires of the community.
Opting out of the National School Lunch Program has provided the opportunity for more flexibility and the ability to offer a diverse range of options beyond the program while still adhering to USDA Dietary Guidelines. Where other districts are required to use government commodity food such certain meat, cheese, and canned goods, Pittsford Schools can incorporate vendors and items that are not on bid or used by other districts.
We focus on local produce and dairy whenever possible. We purchase meats from Palmer Foods, serve only fat-free white or chocolate milk from Upstate Farms, produce from American Fruit & Vegetable Company, and our bread and grain products are whole grain and come from Midstate Bakery. We offer the five components required by the USDA of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, a meat or meat alternative protein, and milk with each meal.
Our Approach to Funding School Meals
Without the state or federal subsidies provided by the National School Lunch Program, the PCSD food services program operates as a self-supporting business relying solely on funds generated through lunch and ala carte sales to cover all operating and personnel expenses. Although prices may be slightly higher due to the lack of taxes to offset costs compared to neighboring schools, we are thoughtful in controlling expenses to keep lunch prices reasonable without compromising the overall dining experience.
Pittsford Schools is dedicated to providing all Pittsford students with a positive and nutritious dining experience. We welcome feedback and suggestions regarding the school lunch program and appreciate your continued support as we evaluate our prices and offerings.
Have more questions? Please review our Food Services: Frequently Asked Questions or contact Elena Montgomery, our Director of Food Services, by email or at 585-267-1096.