Lunch is Served _ with a Side of Choice

Mac and cheese, chicken parm and pizza will always be big with kids. But this year, choice seems to be one of the most popular items on the menu at  the school district’s cafeterias.

This fall marks the second year that Whitsons School Nutrition will handle the town’s school lunch program. The private company was selected to replace the town-run service in an effort to cut costs.

“The second year is definitely easier,’’ said Sara Bye, the Grafton schools’ food service director for Whitsons. “The students, staff and teachers know what to expect.’’

Even at the start of the year, when kids often opt to bring lunch and showcase their new lunch boxes, participation “didn’t have its normal dropoff,’’ she said.

At , options such as the salad bar have grown in popularity, she said.

In the younger grades, hot lunches remain popular, she said.

Whitsons will continue to focus on offering nutritional choices, she said. One way to do this, she said, is to make healthy foods more palatable.

“Having a salad or veggie sticks can be a more popular way of getting their veggies than just having peas on a plate,’’ she said.

Empowering students is one way to get them to eat healthy, she said.

“They feel like they have ownership of their choices,’’ she said.