Harrisburg Academy’s food service department contributes to the successful academic experience for our students by encouraging a lifetime of healthy eating. We provide quality meals that are balanced and nutritious. Our goals are:
- To provide an opportunity for all students to meet one third of their daily nutritional needs
- To be an integral part of the Academy Wellness Program by helping to educate students about proper nutrition
- To maintain high standards of sanitation and safety
- To utilize technology as needed to enhance the effectiveness of our program
- To stay abreast of research and advancements regarding nutrition and wellness as it relates to dietary needs
- To effectively communicate menu offerings to students and parents and help students to make informed choices
- To maintain a commitment to advancing “green” initiatives in the kitchen to help meet environmental sustainability goals outlined in the Academy’s Challenge 2013 strategic plan
All students have a wide range of choices each day. Our lunch menus are designed to include a protein item, such as chicken, fish, beef, or cheese; whole-grain bread; vegetables; and fruits; milk; and 100% juice. We also offer a soup and sandwich line which includes a variety of deli meats, such as turkey, smoked turkey, and turkey-ham; salads, such as tuna and egg; and American and provolone cheese. A majority of our soups are homemade. Peanut butter and jelly, along with a selection of whole-grain breads, are available as an alternate menu choice.
As part of our offerings, we include a salad bar with an assortment of fresh vegetables, and protein alternatives such as cottage cheese and shredded cheese. A smaller version salad bar is available most days for HATS, Junior Kindergarten, and Kindergarten students. This salad bar includes lettuce, cucumbers, baby carrots, individual ranch dressing packets, raisins, fruit, and yogurt.
A variety of fresh fruit and individual cups of yogurt are available every day for all students. Our beverage selection includes 2% and skim milk, and apple juice or orange juice on a daily basis. Lemonade is offered seasonally on Tuesdays and low-fat chocolate milk is offered on Fridays. Water is always available at the water fountains in the John Butler Davis Gallery.
We also offer a cash breakfast bar before school from 7:15-7:55 a.m. Individual items, such as cereal, bagels, yogurt, granola bars, milk, and juice, can be purchased at a nominal cost.
Nutritional and Ingredient Information
As part of the Academy’s commitment to offer good nutrition to every student, we have begun creating a Nutritional Information page and an Ingredient Information page on the Academy School Lunch Program website. On the Nutritional Information page, you will find not only the protein, calories, fat, and carbohydrates of items served, but also any allergy warnings that may be associated with a particular item. The Ingredient Information page is a listing of the actual ingredients as they are printed on the labels of the items offered. We update these areas throughout the school year to ensure that the majority of menu items are listed.
Did you know?
More than a staggering 96 billion pounds of edible “surplus” food is thrown away in the U.S. each year. In efforts to do our part and to curtail the impact we have on our environment, two years ago we made significant reductions in the amount of Styrofoam products we used as well as drastically reducing our bottled water usage, eliminating it completely whenever it was feasible. This year, in an effort to reduce waste and save energy, Harrisburg Academy's food service department will transition to serving lunch on segmented trays instead of using multiple dishes. This change comes as a result of a waste study done by food services during the 2008-09 school year and the statistics of the food industry, schools, and colleges across the nation. Last year alone, we averaged approximately ¼ lb of food waste per person, equating to approximately 21,500 pounds of waste over the entire school year. By reducing the amount dishes we use, we will save up to 25-40% in wasted food and 25% in wasted energy and resources -- AND help to save the Earth! For more information about this initiative, click here.
We want to partner with you in helping students make smart, healthy nutritional choices that contribute to a well-balanced diet and help to minimize Harrisburg Academy’s carbon footprint. We appreciate your support. As always, should you have any questions or concerns, I welcome your feedback and would welcome meeting you for lunch. I can be contacted via phone (763-7811, ext. 353) or email. Thank you!
Christopher Joyce
Director of Food Service
Monthly school menu
