Burrillville Middle school debuts expanded menu featuring local products

BURRILLVILLE, R.I. — "This is the debut day so today's a big day for everybody," said Solange Morissette, District Manager of Chartwells School Dining Services.

"In the past month we've added local beef, local pork, shelled eggs and now today, local chicken being cooked in a rotisserie."

The rotisserie and other new equipment is thanks to a $150,000 grant from the USDA Healthy Meals Initiative.

The chicken is from Baffoni's Poultry Farm in Johnston.

"The pasta's made from scratch, so part of this grant we also got a pasta extruder so we can now make pasta from scratch," said Morissette.

And you can get that pasta made to order with your favorite mix-ins.

There's a cold bar chock full of fruits and veggies, and you can even take a whirl on a smoothie-making bike. Eighth grader, Olivia Kelly did.

"It's really good," said Kelly.

Up until recently, some students thought lunch was getting boring. Colin Sharpe was one of them.

On Thursday, he was singing a different tune.

"I can't wait. It looks so yum," said Sharpe, also an eighth-grader.

There's a special effort to make foods lower in sodium and sugar.

"Students have shown time and time again, that improving nutrition in school meals leads to better outcomes in student's academic performance and psychosocial functioning," said Alyson Foote, with the Action for Healthy Kids, a nationwide grassroots network.

And it goes beyond what's being served in the cafeteria.

"But what's happening in the health curriculum, the classroom. So kids making healthy choices when when it comes to nutrition. We know that that will benefit them both personally and academically," said Michael Sollitto, Burrillville School Superintendent.

Burrillville Middle School prepares food for the entire district.

Smithfield schools have recently received a grant and will be following Burrillville's lead.

The hope is to expand this to all 23 school districts Chartwells serves in Rhode Island.