The Role of Food Equipment in Healthy Meals at School
With the economic downturn, there has been a significant increase in the reliance on government-funded school breakfast and lunch programs. According to a December 2008 study by the School Nutrition Association, "The average increase in free and reduced participation from last school year compared to the current school year, reported by survey respondents, was 2.5 percent. When applied to the total number of free and reduced meals served last year, the increase represents an additional 425,000 meals served."
This increase in the number of meals being produced on a daily basis means more parents are relying on the schools to provide students with healthy meals. Though feeding students nutritious meals has always been a priority, this increased participation reinforces the need to ensure students have nourishing meal options at school.
One important way to assist in delivering a nutritious meal to students is to evaluate the equipment being used to prepare these meals. Choosing the appropriate food equipment can contribute to more healthy alternatives for meal preparation.
An example of a piece of equipment that can cook a wide variety of healthy meals is a combi oven. With the combi, food can be cooked with dry convection heat, fan-assisted steam or a combination of both. This combination enables unlimited versatility in baking, grilling, roasting, steaming, proofing, rethermalizing, low-temp cooking and other methods. In addition to providing a range of cooking techniques, the combi oven also affords healthy options.
Katie Rogers, director of child nutrition, MSD of Decatur Township, explained that the kitchen at Lynwood Elementary needed an oven that was versatile and could produce high-quality, nutritious meals multiple times a day for a large number of students in a timely fashion. Approximately 93 percent of students participate in the school's lunch program, and in the summer the school's kitchen offers a program for neighborhood children to have lunch at the elementary school.
"Our number one objective is to produce high-quality, nutritious food for our students, and Hobart's Combi Oven helps us achieve this objective daily," Rogers said.
A combi oven can allow foods such as French fries and chicken nuggets to be baked, potentially eliminating the need for a fryer. The oven's steaming capability makes it easy to produce steamed fish, rice, vegetables and meat. The combi oven also gives users the convenience of three cooking modes all in one piece of equipment, with virtually limitless options for producing nutritious meals.
Other equipment that promotes healthy meals is food preparation equipment, including food processors, mixers and slicers. These items help prepare fresh and appealing food in the form of wraps and deli sandwiches, salads and fruit cups. In addition to offering healthy alternatives, this equipment also helps increase productivity and saves time by efficiently chopping, mixing and slicing large quantities.
School meals play a vital role in keeping the youth of today healthy. The type of food equipment used to cook these meals also plays an important role in developing nutritious meals, helping students have healthier options while at school.
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