Changes Come to LAUSD Food Services
by Ryan Park
LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the nation, enrolling roughly 560,000 students across the city. Handling such a massive student population comes with the hefty task of feeding those students. LAUSD’s Food Services Department serves an excess of 500,000 meals a day. These meals include 321,000 breakfasts, 260,000 lunches, and 49,000 dinners, but what goes into serving all these meals? I sat down with the Director of Food Services, Singh Manishm, and he gave me a better understanding of what the Department of Food Services is tasked with.
Finger-tip Facts: Let’s first get into some quick facts about the Department of Food Services:
- All schools offer fresh fruits and vegetable bars daily.
- Secondary schools provide up to 7 daily options, including fresh salads, vegan, and vegetarian options.
- Schools have an active partnership with the Farm2School Program, a program where fresh produce goes directly from farms to school cafeterias
- 25 members of the culinary staff have gone through training with more to come from the active partnership with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA)
- The Department of Food Services has also hired a Culinary Institute Supervisor
- Roughly around 75-80 staff members are in training with the CIA currently
- All menu items are student-approved and can be found on the YumYummi app
- LAUSD has introduced its first food truck with more to come soon!
Regulations and Standards
Due to school meals being governed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food Service Department must ensure all their meals follow regulations. For example, consider the school pizza. You may wonder why the dough isn’t like your typical Domino’s pizza, but it’s due to a regulation where school lunches must contain whole grains.
Here are some other regulations that the Food Services Department must follow:
- Fruits and vegetables must be served daily
- Meals must adhere to USDA sugar and calorie limits
- Meals must be low in sodium
- Meals must not contain added trans fat, nitrates, sulfites, artificial colors, or sweeteners
- All food served is rich in whole grains
Finances
Have you ever seen the lunch lady at your school cafeteria holding a clipboard as you grab your lunch and wondered, what is she doing? You may also occasionally be asked to pick up an extra fruit or side dish. This is because for each meal students are served, LAUSD is reimbursed for the money they spend. Additionally, under California’s Universal Meals Programs, everyone can get breakfast and lunch at no charge. The prices of reimbursement vary for the different types of meals.
Here are the reimbursement rates for LAUSD meals:
- $3.69 for every breakfast
- $5.32 for every lunch
- $4.45 for every supper
Food Improvement Plans
After hearing feedback from students, the Food Services department is actively trying to improve school menus and rebrand itself to increase student satisfaction with meals. They are currently working on multiple projects to appeal to students as they are the sole customers of this program. One of the ways they plan on accomplishing this is by developing new menu items. It starts with the department contacting its suppliers for new innovative meals. They then take all these new dishes to an event that occurs twice a year, called Farm2School Fest. At the event, they show off produce and meals to schools in a certain neighborhood and have students rate them. Meals must receive an approval rating of 75-80% from students; otherwise, the meals are rejected and sent back to the suppliers to be reworked.
Some of the new meals that have been approved are:
- Overnight apple cinnamon oats
- Cajun chicken salad sandwich
- Ham and cheese croissant
- Buffalo wings
- Bahn mi sandwiches
- Vanilla yogurt with homemade granola
- Alfredo pasta with chicken and broccoli
- Popcorn chicken with grits
- Ramen bowls
- Homemade granola
To prep these meals, LAUSD has invested in new combi ovens to help create fresh meals for students. These types of ovens allow for staff to cook meals via three methods: convection, steam, and a combination of steam and convection. They also aim to entice students to the cafeteria not just with new delicious meals, but also a different environment. Using new resources, they plan on “freshening” school cafeterias and providing charging stations for students. The District has also made the first-ever food truck that tours schools in LAUSD and offers different dishes. Another approach is to have students be more hands-on with the food that they are consuming. Hydroponic units have been provided to schools where students may learn how to grow fresh plants and harvest them.
YumYummi App
For more information on all the meals LAUSD provides, download the YumYummi app. It contains a schedule of meals for each school and also provides nutritional information, such as calories and possible allergic concerns. You can find more information about the app at lausd.yumyummi.com!
Read MoreSolar Eclipses
by Jordin Lim & Milan Riley
A total solar eclipse is an astronomical wonder that most people have the opportunity of seeing only a few times during their lives. This rarity makes the experience of witnessing one so much more incredible, and many people will travel great distances to see a total eclipse in its full splendor. Despite these globally renowned events, many people don’t really know the cause behind them. Why does a solar eclipse happen?
Explanation for a Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse is an event in which the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, thereby partially or fully blocking the Sun’s light and casting a shadow on Earth in some areas.
With this knowledge in mind, you might think: why don’t solar eclipses occur more often? Doesn’t this alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth happen frequently? Solar eclipses are rare because the Moon’s orbit is tilted 5 degrees to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. This tilt means that the Moon often passes above or below the Earth, missing that perfect alignment and therefore not creating a solar eclipse. That’s why we don’t get to see our beloved solar eclipses more often. So the next time you hear of an upcoming solar eclipse, make sure you mark your calendars and run to get some solar eclipse glasses!
Types of Solar Eclipses
Did you know there are three types of solar eclipses?
- Total Solar Eclipse: A total solar eclipse is only visible to a small part of the Earth. Those who see a total solar eclipse are located in what’s called the “path of totality” in the the center of the Moon’s shadow when it hits Earth. In order for this to occur, the Sun, Earth, and Moon must be in a direct line.
- Partial Solar Eclipse: A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are not directly in line and the Sun is not completely covered. The Sun seems to only have a dark shadow on a small part of its surface. This is the type of eclipse that occurs most frequently.
- Annular Solar Eclipse: An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth fall in line, but the Moon is farthest away from the Earth in its orbit. The Sun is not completely blocked off and there appears to be a ring encompassing the Moon.
Fun fact: A phenomenon known as a “diamond ring” occurs during a total solar eclipse right before the Sun is completely covered by the Moon. During this, a little bit of the Sun peeks out, making this sensation look like a diamond ring!
Lunar Eclipse
Another eclipse you may have heard of is a lunar eclipse, which (as you might be able to infer based on the name) has to do with shadows being cast on the Moon! During a lunar eclipse, the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. The lunar surface becomes a striking red over the course of a few hours. Lunar eclipses are visible from half of the Earth.
Fun fact: Despite contrary belief, lunar eclipses are not more common than solar eclipses; they actually occur in equal numbers!
How Can You View A Solar Eclipse?
Solar eclipse eye safety is extremely important, so it’s important that you are armed with the correct eye protection to watch the eclipse since permanent damage to your corneas can occur very quickly. Solar eclipse glasses are specially designed to keep your eyes safe while you watch the eclipse.
Test your glasses: A strong sign that your glasses are good to keep your eyes safe is that when you put them on in normal room fighting, all you see is black. Even if your glasses pass this test, make sure you’ve bought your glasses from a reliable supplier.
The Most Recent Solar Eclipse
It’s doubtful that anyone could miss it, but a few weeks ago on April 8, 2024, Earth experienced a total solar eclipse. Officially named the Great North American Eclipse, its totality was visible from many parts of North America, including Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Many of us watched from campus using specialized glasses. In addition, it was considered an unusually long eclipse, with totality lasting 4 minutes and 28 seconds. Here are a few photos of the event:
These pictures show the flight path and eclipse progression:
Is it a Conspiracy?
While scientists have studied the astronomy behind eclipses for years, others have made their own theories. Ideas about eclipses span from it causing the plague to it harming pregnancies. One myth is eclipses are a government scheme to encourage consumers to buy eclipse glasses. But as with anything you read on the internet, make sure you fact check that what you’re reading is true. You wouldn’t want to miss a beautiful eclipse because of it!
Watch out for the next total solar eclipse to occur in North America, which will happen in 20 years on August 23, 2044! However, if you can’t wait that long, there is an total eclipse coming August 12, 2026, visible from Russia, Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Here’s the worldwide schedule for the next decade: https://www.space.com/next-10-years-solar-eclipses-2026-to-2034
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