MONROE - Chicken cordon bleu sandwiches, cheese steak hoagies, apple cider beef stew - this is not the Mystery Meat hot lunch you remember from childhood.
Welcome to school lunch, Monroe style.
The school district's lunch program has undergone a dramatic overhaul recently under the direction of Eric Ekum, who took over as food service director in June. The emphasis is on healthy eating options, such as whole-grains and lower fat items, fresh foods, and educating young people about good nutrition.
Ekum, a 1977 Monroe High School grad, has a long history feeding crowds. After going to school for hotel and restaurant management, he worked in food service in hospital and school lunch settings.
But area residents may know him best for the food he's served up in restaurants locally. He opened the former Peppercorn Café on Monroe's north side in 1993. He later opened Peppercorn Banquets in the Ludlow Mansion building, and then started Perks, a coffee shop and café, in 2004. Most recently, he worked in Madison as the general manager at the Flat Top Grill, a do-it-yourself stir fry eatery.
His interest in young people's health prompted him to apply when the food service director position became available. "I've always had a passion for healthy nutrition," he said. And after seeing kids eating their veggies at the Flat Top Grill, "I knew kids would eat fresh foods."
One of Ekum's first orders of business was to change the name of his department to Nutrition Services, to better reflect the focus on healthy eating. He also switched the district back to using reusable trays and silverware, saving money and natural resources.
Ekum also began work on changing how kids look at their school lunch. He calls the lunch program the "Cheesemaker Café" because he wants students to think of their school lunch room as a restaurant. To that end, Ekum has revamped most of the menu, using a creative, healthier approach to staple school lunch ingredients.
The school lunch menu is driven by government commodities, Ekum said. The USDA purchases excess food stuffs, such as chicken nuggets, ham or refried beans, and makes them available for free to school lunch programs, allowing local districts to keep costs down. Commodity items, which are ever changing, can be up to 60 percent of menu offerings in Monroe.
Ekum adds his own flair to the commodities. The chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich served earlier this week, for example, was built around three staple commodity items: A breaded chicken patty, ham and mozzarella cheese. Combined with a honey mustard sauce on a whole grain bun, the result was a sandwich sounding straight off a restaurant menu. The lunch was rounded out with fresh carrot sticks with low-fat ranch dressing, apples and milk.
"I always try to make it look interesting, make it exciting," he said. "I get excited when kids try new foods."
One of the biggest hits so far has also been one of the simplest: Blueberries in vanilla yogurt. The kids loved it, Ekum said. Another big hit was Cheesemaker pasta, a dish featuring rotini pasta tossed with Alfredo and marinara sauces served with chicken and mozzarella cheese.
Under Ekum's direction, the food program is concentrating on more freshly prepared meals rather than packaged. Food is prepared at Monroe Middle School for Northside and Parkside elementary schools; MHS prepares meals for Abraham Lincoln students. All told, the district serves about 1,400 meals per day.
"When you walk into buildings, you can actually smell the food cooking. We're trying to do more from scratch," he said, noting from-scratch cooking also is more cost-effective.
To encourage young children to try new foods, Ekum instituted offering a choice of two entrees once per week in elementary schools. The choice day originally was planned for just September and October; now, Ekum is planning to keep it going through November. By December, he's eyeing expanding the program to offer a choice of entrees two days per week in the elementary schools.
At the same time, he's revamping the menu selection at Monroe High School. One specialty entrée salad, such as Asian chicken salad, chef salad or Caesar salad, is being offered ala carte. By January, Ekum wants to expand the menu to include a daily pizza bar, and themed food bars, such as a Mexican food bar, a pasta food and a sub sandwich bar.
Other changes also have taken place. The district now serves all whole-grain bread products, he said. Low-fat and baked chip items are offered at MHS. There's more fresh vegetables offered. "We always try to do fresh," Ekum said. When fresh produce isn't an option, he opts for frozen instead of canned. Breakfasts feature cereal offered daily, as well as a featured item.
So far, the reaction to lunch program changes has been very positive. There's been good feedback from parents, staff and even kids, Ekum said. "If they (kids) are talking about it, they're excited about it," he said.
Ekum plans to engage students even more by having a School Choice menu day. Starting in December, one school per month will get to plan a day's menu. Students will plan the menu according to USDA guidelines and then get to see their meal served to the entire district.
It's all part of an effort to back up nutrition education in the classroom with real-life experiences in the cafeteria, he said. For example, a daily nutrition fact is posted on the menu board in each school's lunch room as another way to teach kids about healthy eating.
"We're really trying to focus on nutrition education," he said.
Parents also can learn more about nutrition at the district's Web site, www.monroeschools.com. In addition to payment and menu information, the site includes a monthly newsletter and more information on nutrition to help parents incorporate healthy eating ideas at home.
Both at school and home, the key is to present a variety of tastes and textures to get school children to try new, healthy options, he said.
And getting kids to taste a new dish is half the battle.
"The biggest challenge is getting the kids to try it," Ekum said. He tries to visit three schools per day to see how menus are going over.
"I see kids taste it, then they tell their friends about it," he said. "Pretty soon, the whole table is eating it."
Welcome to school lunch, Monroe style.
The school district's lunch program has undergone a dramatic overhaul recently under the direction of Eric Ekum, who took over as food service director in June. The emphasis is on healthy eating options, such as whole-grains and lower fat items, fresh foods, and educating young people about good nutrition.
Ekum, a 1977 Monroe High School grad, has a long history feeding crowds. After going to school for hotel and restaurant management, he worked in food service in hospital and school lunch settings.
But area residents may know him best for the food he's served up in restaurants locally. He opened the former Peppercorn Café on Monroe's north side in 1993. He later opened Peppercorn Banquets in the Ludlow Mansion building, and then started Perks, a coffee shop and café, in 2004. Most recently, he worked in Madison as the general manager at the Flat Top Grill, a do-it-yourself stir fry eatery.
His interest in young people's health prompted him to apply when the food service director position became available. "I've always had a passion for healthy nutrition," he said. And after seeing kids eating their veggies at the Flat Top Grill, "I knew kids would eat fresh foods."
One of Ekum's first orders of business was to change the name of his department to Nutrition Services, to better reflect the focus on healthy eating. He also switched the district back to using reusable trays and silverware, saving money and natural resources.
Ekum also began work on changing how kids look at their school lunch. He calls the lunch program the "Cheesemaker Café" because he wants students to think of their school lunch room as a restaurant. To that end, Ekum has revamped most of the menu, using a creative, healthier approach to staple school lunch ingredients.
The school lunch menu is driven by government commodities, Ekum said. The USDA purchases excess food stuffs, such as chicken nuggets, ham or refried beans, and makes them available for free to school lunch programs, allowing local districts to keep costs down. Commodity items, which are ever changing, can be up to 60 percent of menu offerings in Monroe.
Ekum adds his own flair to the commodities. The chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich served earlier this week, for example, was built around three staple commodity items: A breaded chicken patty, ham and mozzarella cheese. Combined with a honey mustard sauce on a whole grain bun, the result was a sandwich sounding straight off a restaurant menu. The lunch was rounded out with fresh carrot sticks with low-fat ranch dressing, apples and milk.
"I always try to make it look interesting, make it exciting," he said. "I get excited when kids try new foods."
One of the biggest hits so far has also been one of the simplest: Blueberries in vanilla yogurt. The kids loved it, Ekum said. Another big hit was Cheesemaker pasta, a dish featuring rotini pasta tossed with Alfredo and marinara sauces served with chicken and mozzarella cheese.
Under Ekum's direction, the food program is concentrating on more freshly prepared meals rather than packaged. Food is prepared at Monroe Middle School for Northside and Parkside elementary schools; MHS prepares meals for Abraham Lincoln students. All told, the district serves about 1,400 meals per day.
"When you walk into buildings, you can actually smell the food cooking. We're trying to do more from scratch," he said, noting from-scratch cooking also is more cost-effective.
To encourage young children to try new foods, Ekum instituted offering a choice of two entrees once per week in elementary schools. The choice day originally was planned for just September and October; now, Ekum is planning to keep it going through November. By December, he's eyeing expanding the program to offer a choice of entrees two days per week in the elementary schools.
At the same time, he's revamping the menu selection at Monroe High School. One specialty entrée salad, such as Asian chicken salad, chef salad or Caesar salad, is being offered ala carte. By January, Ekum wants to expand the menu to include a daily pizza bar, and themed food bars, such as a Mexican food bar, a pasta food and a sub sandwich bar.
Other changes also have taken place. The district now serves all whole-grain bread products, he said. Low-fat and baked chip items are offered at MHS. There's more fresh vegetables offered. "We always try to do fresh," Ekum said. When fresh produce isn't an option, he opts for frozen instead of canned. Breakfasts feature cereal offered daily, as well as a featured item.
So far, the reaction to lunch program changes has been very positive. There's been good feedback from parents, staff and even kids, Ekum said. "If they (kids) are talking about it, they're excited about it," he said.
Ekum plans to engage students even more by having a School Choice menu day. Starting in December, one school per month will get to plan a day's menu. Students will plan the menu according to USDA guidelines and then get to see their meal served to the entire district.
It's all part of an effort to back up nutrition education in the classroom with real-life experiences in the cafeteria, he said. For example, a daily nutrition fact is posted on the menu board in each school's lunch room as another way to teach kids about healthy eating.
"We're really trying to focus on nutrition education," he said.
Parents also can learn more about nutrition at the district's Web site, www.monroeschools.com. In addition to payment and menu information, the site includes a monthly newsletter and more information on nutrition to help parents incorporate healthy eating ideas at home.
Both at school and home, the key is to present a variety of tastes and textures to get school children to try new, healthy options, he said.
And getting kids to taste a new dish is half the battle.
"The biggest challenge is getting the kids to try it," Ekum said. He tries to visit three schools per day to see how menus are going over.
"I see kids taste it, then they tell their friends about it," he said. "Pretty soon, the whole table is eating it."