Lisle Lunches Made Fresh, Served with Pride

Delilah Noriega

At Lisle Senior High School, lead cook Colette Harvey says that more students are choosing to eat school lunches than in past years. 

“To tell you the truth, we’re serving half the school now,” Harvey said. “I have never been in a school district where I served half of the school, so you guys are responding well to what we’re trying to do.”

Students have also noticed the difference. 

“Right now, I think they’re making some of their own food from scratch, which I do like,” says Lea Daci, a senior at Lisle. “Especially senior year, since they’ve improved and changed.”

Lauren Barr, the dining director at Lisle Senior High School, said the staff tries to focus on what students like. 

“They really like the nachos. And we always have the grill, so we just kind of go through chicken patties, hamburgers, …grab-and-go sandwiches, and then we rotate with the Create Section too,” Barr said. “Breakfast for lunch is what we also do on a regular weekly basis, but we always try to get feedback from the kids.”

She explained that the cafeteria team works hard to make meals that work for everyone. 

“I try to make every student happy, but it’s hard, because not everybody likes spicy food or likes Mexican food or Chinese,” Barr said. 

Compared to past years, the staff has made big changes to bring freshness and variety to the menu. 

“I think we do a lot more fresh products. Fresh fruit and vegetables are what I try to pride myself on -homemade from scratch, like the soup is literally made from scratch today,” Barr said. “I think it’s just more fresh, more colorful, like you eat with your eyes.” 

She added that nothing is premade anymore. 

“I think we’re trying to bring back the freshness of it made from scratch, making sure it has flavor. Nothing is pre-made.”

Barr said the improvements have made a difference in how students eat. 

“What is exciting for me is that [students] are all eating broccoli and zucchini, and I love that.” She said, “They really do eat vegetables. And they come back for seconds.” 

The cafeteria staff also enjoys seeing the students’ reactions. “When we did our focus group, the kids were really helpful. They really liked the food. They gave us new ideas to incorporate,” Barr said. 

To keep things fun, the cafeteria even plans themed meals throughout the year. “For Halloween, we [had] a special menu with hot dogs made as mummies with eyes. We [had] apple crisp and…curly fries as blood and guts,” Harvey added with a laugh. 

With new and improved homemade meals, fresh ingredients, and fun, exciting menus, Lisle’s cafeteria team is demonstrating that school lunch can be both healthy and enjoyable, and students are taking notice.