What’s New?
Nutrition Updates for April 2024
Quarter 4 Menu starts April 15th and runs through June 6th. Some old favorites will return (Only-at-Great-River creation, Sunny Noodles) and some new dishes to try (Chicken Tetrazzini).
Happy to share: 2,287 meals donated as of February 9, 2024 to Feeding Frogtown. We are happy to partner with this stellar organization to help get food to people in need.
Fun Food Facts: We asked the Nutrition team to share a special food memory. Here’s what they had to say:
Chef Dan: Grandma Sophie made homemade French fries once a week as an after school treat. Dan remembers getting off the bus and going in the house to see his Grandma shaking the freshly made fries in a brown paper bag to season them with salt. And if fresh, hot fries weren’t enough, there was also homemade ketchup.
Chef Tess: Grandma Elmarie made a special bunny cake every Easter. Tess was little enough that she had to look up to the counter to see the bunny cake covered in fluffy frosting and shredded coconut. Jelly beans and licorice made the eyes, nose and mouth. Her Grandmother also made Rice Krispie Easter baskets that she filled with jelly beans. Thus started Tess’s lifelong love of Jelly Belly. Buttered popcorn is her favorite flavor.
Chef Sam: When his Mom was out of town Sam and his Dad would pick basil and make pesto for noodles and steak to eat while watching James Bond movies. It was a solid “Bad Boys’ Night” tradition for decades. Also, Sam happily recalls his Grandma Edith baking Toll House chocolate chip cookies in their tiny kitchen in Pittsburgh.
Chef Mel: Was about 8 or 9 years old when she fibbed to her babysitter that it was her sister’s birthday and that her parents forgot to buy a cake. The point of the confabulation was to let little Mel do some baking. Did the babysitter believe her? Not sure, but she did let Mel bake the cake and it was delicious. Mel was, is, and always will be, determined to make food!
Chef Julie: Fondly recalls her Dad making her hot baloney sandwiches for lunch. She loved the way the baloney puffed and curled up in the cast iron pan. She quickly learned how to make her own sandwiches, but having Dad make it was extra special. These days she’s a pescatarian, but if you offer her a hot baloney sandwich on white bread, she just might take you up on it.
See you in the lunch line,
Chef Dan, Tess, Mel, Sam and Julie
We look forward to serving you,
Your friends in the Great River kitchen, Dan, Tess, Julie and Mel
School Nutrition
We believe that food is a connector.
It reminds us of the people and places that nourish us, and the land from which our food comes.
We have completely revamped our school nutrition program. In 2021, we moved away from our food production kitchen model to an education based program that also serves food. The new program includes a creative expression culinary class, focusing on sustainability and climate change in a commercial kitchen, and a creative expression cafe microeconomics class which allows the students to experience running a business. This program is available to Lower Adolescent students — stay tuned for more details! We are excited to have a new world of what the nutrition program looks like at GRS!
We will want feedback as the year progresses, and keep in mind that we are always evolving this model! You can email lunch@greatriverschool.org with any feedback you may have.
Program Mission
Understanding the important role that food plays in sustaining our bodies, our friendships, our families, and our relationship with living beings ties to our school’s core values to honor all living beings and work toward global peace through education. A strong relationship with our food empowers all of us to be more healthy, caring and engaged participants in our local community.
Our program aims to be healthy and supportive of a sustainable food system. For our program, we define ‘sustainable’ as:
Supporting local agriculture
Preparing all foods from scratch
Focusing on plant-based whole-food- meals
Choosing chemical & pesticide free ingredients
Questions can be directed to lunch@greatriverschool.org.
What Makes GRS Meals Different
At Great River School, we do our best to ensure that our students are being fed a healthy, balanced diet using sustainable ingredients while also tasting great. We recognize that many students have dietary restrictions so we avoid cooking with common allergens like peanuts and dairy and instead use alternatives like sunflower seeds or coconut/almond milk respectively. In addition to this, most of our food is vegetarian or vegan and we always provide a gluten free option.
Since Great River School does not take part in the National School Lunch Program, we rely heavily on funding from outside sources and grants. It is because of this that our students do not all receive free meals. However, families are strongly encouraged to fill out the application to apply for Educational Benefits; this includes free or reduced-price meals. The application is linked in the quick links section below.
Hot lunch is offered Monday - Friday on a rotating basis, while there are 2 cold lunch options offered every day during your students lunch period. A cold breakfast is also offered before the first school period starts Monday - Friday. The menus change by quarter and a copy of the most recent menu can be found in the quick links section below.
Meal pricing is as follows:
Cold breakfast - $2.50
Cold lunch - $2.50* or $5
Hot lunch - $3.50
*Cold lunch options are either a choice of a rotating sandwich or wrap/salad/grain bowl, half sandwiches/wraps are offered for a lower price of $2.50.
Quick Links
UPDATED: Quarter 3 Lunch Menu 2023-24
School Payment Portal Direct Link
School Payment Portal How-To Guide- how to make a lunch account using the school payment portal