B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 15,1984
When viewed as a challenge,
packing lunches can be fun
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Corresiiondeat
MOUNT JOY - With September
comes more than the first day of
school - it is also the beginning of
180 days of packing school lunches
in some households. While this
often becomes a drudgery, it can
be viewed as a challenge.
Good nutrition and food safety
should be of paramount im
portance in planning the school
lunch, but sparking the child’s
interest will help to get all that
good nutritious food eaten.
Children at Kraybill’s Mennonite
School, Mount Joy, pack lunches
daily because there is no cafeteria.
For Linda Heisey, R 2 Mount Joy,
that means three lunches every
day for her children; Lynnea, 10;
Naomi, 8; and Megan, 7.
Linda has solved the problem of
what to pack by allowing her
daughters to pack their own lun
ches with supervision. She said
food was coming home uneaten, so
she decided to have them pack
their own.
She adds, “I feel it’s important
for children to be independent.
Then, if mother has a crisis, they
can handle it.” Lynnea, a sixth
grader, said that’s exactly what
they did when their mother was in
the hospital and grandmother was
caring for them.
Linda has solved another
problem facing perennial packers -
that of dented, rusting lunch boxes.
She said, “I had bought so many
lunch kettles. Now they all have
Tupperware lunch boxes.” These
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
ROHRERSTOWN - Ask my
child what the highlight of his
school day is, and it could well be
lunch (with recess as a close
second). Stella Hess is one of the
people who works hard to keep
making lunch the best part of the
day.
Stella, the well-known sewing
leader the Mountville Community
4-H Club, is the cafeteria manager
at Rohrerestown Elementary
School in the Hempfield School
District, and it is her job to prepare
and serve food to several hundred
students each school day.
It’s a job she likes, and one she
believes is important. She began
working as a substitute in the
kitchen 12 years ago and says,
“It's one way of working and being
home with the family. I always
thought my place was in the home,
and this way I got home before the
children did and left after they
did.” Her youngest, Christine, is a
senior at Hempfield High School.
At a time when many districts
have changed to a satellite food
program and prepared foods are
almost a way of life, the Hempfield
School District prepares food in the
cafeterias of each of its eight
schools.
homestead
wies
Students face two options for lunch - pock or buy
plastic boxes feature individual
containers for sandwiches and
other items, as well as handles.
They are completely washable,
and parts can be replaced.
The girls seem enthusiastic
about their packing which they do
in the morning. Megan says, “It’s
something to do in the morning
while we wait for the bus.” Also,
since Linda is frequently taking
calls for the family business,
Heisey’s Farm Service, the
process can continue without her.
Furthermore, Linda says, “They
like to pack it themselves and then
look forward to it.” Lynnea agrees,
“I think lunch time is never going
to come.”
The girls can purchase milk and
juice at school, but often prefer to
take water, orange juice or milk
from home. Once a month in the
winter Linda says, the mothers
provide a hot lunch for the
children. Another treat is the day
each week when they can trade
something with a friend. But
Naomi says, “You can’t trade
sandwiches.” The trading adds an
extra dimension when packing -
Lynnea pointed out, “You think
harder about what to trade.” Linda
approves of the idea, saying, “It
takes away the monotony. A lot of
mothers are very conscientious
about what they pack.”
For her part, Linda says she
always thinks about lunches when
she goes grocery shopping. Each
child has a preference, so she likes
to have chicken, bologna and ham
on hand for sandwiches, and both
Stella is the first to admit that it
takes organization to feed several
hundred students, but she says
having the appropriate equipment
makes it easy. She can rely on
stqpmers and convection ovens to
speed up the process.
Menus are prepared by June B.
Witman, food services director and
the only dietitian in the county in
that capacity, Stella orders baked
goods and dairy products are
ordered directly, but Mrs. Witman
orders the other groceries. Menus
are distributed to the students once
a month, and Stella says, ‘‘l try to
stick to the menu if at all possible.”
Even snow days usually don’t
require a change unless too much
food has been prepared in ad
vance.
Stella prepares a worksheet for
the week, so that each day,
preparation goes forth not only for
that day but for meals which will
be served later in the week.
In addition to thinking ahead for
the work, Stella must keep very
extensive records of what she
prepares and what she serves.
Food that is not used is weighed,
and recorded, and most of it is used
in some other way. “We don’t have
much waste. We can find a use for
almost anything,” she says.
Stella notes that some children
Linda Heisey supervises the packing of school lunches by her three daughters, Lyn
nea, Megan and Naomi. The children attend Kraybill's Mennonite School and pack
lunches daily.
bread and rolls. She often will have
something like Fritos which have
no additives and no preservatives.
She adds, “I try to get fruit in the
lunch.”
She said the girls prefer carrot
sticks kept in water so they are
fresher, and she sometimes cooks
hot dogs, sending them in the
thermos with a bun wrapped
separately. Leftovers are
frequently offered, and spaghetti
or casseroles heat nicely in the
mircowave, Linda states.
Another favorite of the girls is
are afraid to go through the line,
and some become confused. “We
try to have a choice, but not too
many choices because it confuses
them.” Leftover fruit from one day
may be served as a choice several
days later.
School lunches have changed in
that students do not have to pick up
every item offered in the line, but
must choose three of five
nutritional items. Stella said that
the cafeteria offers different
portions to different age groups,
according to “patterns”
established by the government.
The four food groups - milk, bread,
protein, and friuts and vegetables -
are represented in every menu.
Stella adds the french fries to the platters as Food Service Manager June Witman
explains to a first grader how to go through a cafeteria Hne.
y \ls.m.
finger jello, and for a change raw
vegetables and chunks of cheese
and crackers are welcomed.
Linda says the success of her
method lies in having a choice. She
points out, “I say, ‘Here are the
things I have this week. ’ ”
Speaking honestly, Linda says,
“It’s pull and tug at the end of 180
days of packing lunches, but now
it’s interesting.”
Linda not only packs lunches for
the three children. In the spring,
her husband sets off doing custom
applying of fertilizer, and then she
How does she feel when someone
comes through the line and says,
“Ugh!”? Stella says with a smile,
“We tell them they should pack. To
me it’s important that they eat
something.” Nevertheless some
children do buy every day.
Without hesitation, Stella says
that pizza is the most popular item
offered through the cafeteria,
followed by hog dogs, hamburgers
and grilled cheese sandwiches and
tomato soup.
She adds, “All cakes and cookies
are made from scratch. We make
all our dressings from scratch.” So
is barbecue, macaroni and cheese,
and vegetable soup. This varies
somewhat from school to school.
must pack two meals daily for him.
Fortunately, the period only lasts
about two months, she says.
Lilli Ann Kopp is another
Kraybill’s school mother who
packs daily. She packs for her
three sons, Ryan, 10; Sean, 7%;
and Mitchell, 5%. She admits to
using plastic Tupperware con
tainers extensively, and says she
frequently sends a dip to go with
raw vegetables. “It’s a treat and a
nice change.” In the tiny con
tainers she may also send
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For instance Stella always makes
sure there are chopped onions and
relish on hot dog days. She will also
make salads for teachers if they
request it.
Food safety is extremely im
portant to cafeteria personnel, and
Stella carries a thermometer with
her to assure that hot foods are hot
and cold foods are cold.
In the Hempfield District bet
ween 2,800 and 3,000 platters are
served daily out of 3,000 students
enrolled. June Witman’s dream is
to see 100 percent participation.
“Children need the amount of food
offered.” She also believes they get
a more balanced lunch in the
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