Batavia High School no longer part of federal lunch program

BATAVIA – The Batavia School Board on Tuesday voted to remove Batavia High School from the national school lunch program to provide students more choices and flexibility in their meals.

Representatives from the district's food service provider, Quest Food Service, recently told board members two of the biggest reasons for the decline in the number of federal program meals sold at Batavia High School are continued restrictions on portion sizes (particularly protein), and a lack of student choice in meals.

“We are trying to provide food that they like,” said Batavia board member Tina Bleakley, who was in favor of removing the high school from the program.

As designed, the program provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. Quest will continue to provide free or reduced-price meals to students in need.

To make up for the fact the high school no longer will receive federal reimbursements, the district will receive a commission of 10 percent of the total food sales at the high school. Batavia School District 101 officials said because the high school would not be bound by the lunch program’s requirement to keep those funds within the food service program, they could be used to offset expenses in other areas of the district’s operations.

Board member John Dryden was the only board member to vote against removing Batavia High School from the national school lunch program. He had voiced several concerns about making the change, including whether the food still would be nutritious.

“Our relationship with our students fundamentally changes once we go down this road,” Dryden said.

District officials said the district would abide by the its wellness policy.