North Andover seeing more students opting in for school lunch

Dec. 9—NORTH ANDOVER — Following a series of food service changes last summer, 77% of students in the North Andover Public Schools are now choosing school lunch, which is up from 45% prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July, Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation allocating $110 million to fund the extension the Universal Free Lunch Program for the 2022-2023 school year.

According to the district's food service data, 90% of students at Sargent Elementary School are getting lunch at school, representing an increase of 32%. At Atkinson Elementary School, 78% of students have breakfast at school, an increase of 37%.

"Numbers don't lie," said Erika Murphy, the district's food and nutrition director, during the Dec. 1 School Committee meeting. "More students are eating both breakfast and lunch at school because all meals are free in Massachusetts schools through June 2023."

The average percentage of students having breakfast at school has also climbed to 30%.

"All of the elementary schools follow the Second Chance Breakfast model," said Murphy, adding that under Second Chance, breakfast is brought directly to the classroom after school has started.

Lack of cost isn't the only factor impacting how many students eat at school. Murphy said a new fresh fruit and vegetable bar has been a hit with students at North Andover High School.

"It has since become the most popular line," said Murphy.

She said the rotisserie chicken meals that include mashed potatoes and corn are popular as well.

"The kids love it," said Murphy, adding that more items are also being prepared from scratch.

She also called attention to the salad bar, which now offers grilled chicken.

"Nothing is processed, it's all made to order," she said.

Looking ahead to the new year, Murphy said she and her colleagues are considering renovating the middle and high school cafeterias. She said the objective would be to create a setting that is similar to a college campus dining facility.

"We're in the very early stages of entertaining this opportunity," she said.

Murphy is also planning to launch a customized system where middle and high school students can pre order meals for take-out from their phones.

In addition, Murphy is looking to add farm stands at the elementary schools that would offer a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables. The farm stands would also feature a weekly Fresh From the Farm Day.

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