In an effort to showcase the wide variety and quality of school lunches around the state, the Office of Child Nutrition recently held a contest for the best salad bar and the most “Terrific Tray” in schools throughout the state.  Each county was given the criteria for the contests and each school, including elementary, middle, high and technical levels, were invited to enter the contests. 

 

In Harrison County, participating schools sent in one picture of a “Terrific Tray” and one picture of their salad bar.  Judges from the Harrison County Board of Education Offices blindly judges the photographs to determine the winners.  Bridgeport High School won first place in Harrison County’s Salad Bar Contest, winning $500 for food service equipment and recognition at the May 17 School Board Meeting. 

 

As the county winner, the Bridgeport High School cafeteria staff’s entry was sent to the state level to be judged.  After being viewed by representatives from each region of West Virginia, including head dieticians, Bridgeport High School won 2^nd Place in the state for their salad bar photo.  They won an additional $1500 prize, making their salad bar picture worth a total of $2000 for the staff.

 

“We have always made it a priority to work together to provide the best school lunch experience,” said BHS Head Cook and Cafeteria Manager Mary May. “We truly enjoy serving the students and staff and being a part of such a cohesive faculty, We are honored to be recognized for our efforts.”

 

“The Office of Child Nutrition staff actually travels around the state an eats school lunches.  We knew first-hand that schools were providing a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables on the salad bars and offering students a good selection of hot lunches as well,” said Lead Coordinator Kristy Blower.  “The contests were created to show the rest of the state the best of the best among schools in the Mountain State.”

 

Blower also mentioned some of the information they learned from the contest that could improve the perception of lunches in the future.  “We found that lunches looked much better on red or blue trays, so we won’t be ordering any more sandstone trays in the future.  We also learned that small changes can make a big difference in the appearance of the salad bar, helping us to better display the food selection,” said Blower.

 

BHS’s kitchen staff includes Mary Mayer as Head Cook and Manager, Kim Sigler, Debbie Carder and Donna Burton.  “We are so proud of our cafeteria staff for their continued commitment to making school lunches innovative and delicious,” said Mark Defazio, BHS Principal.