Seventeen students sit anxiously awaiting their pizza.
It
does not look like the pizza they had at school last week,
it is a
different package and a different shape. They eye it
suspiciously.......
These students are participating in the annual
Kid's Chef School Taste Testing Panel. Every June, 20 third and fourth
grade students from Akron Public Schools come to the Child Nutrition Test
Kitchen to sample new food items and tell us what they like and don't like
about the new foods. Each student completes a survey form for each item
(see sample). This information is then used to help choose new products
for the coming school year.
In addition to student testing, a
parent panel is also a part of the testing. Parents enjoy tasting the
school meals and learning more about the meal program.
Some of
the new items tested this year include:
peanut
butter and jelly uncrustables
cheese uncrustables
pizza
chef
salad
Here are the student panel results from the chef salad
survey:
3-Poor
1-Fair
2-Average
3-Good
8-Excellent
Sample comments
" I did not like the meat and the
lettuce tasted a little weird."
"I don't like it."
"It is
great."
"I liked the cheese in it."
Parent panel( 6 members)
results from the chef salad survey:
6-Excellent
Sample
comments
"Excellent, my kids will love it!"
"Very good
tasting."
"I really liked the salad and it tastes very good. Children
probably would not like it."
So, the next time you see a new menu item, think about how YOU
would complete the survey form!
If you have a
comment or suggestion to share, go to our 'Ask
the Dietitian' page and submit it online. We'd love to hear from
you! !