When it comes to creating and updating its programming and food distribution, Second Harvest considers the voices, needs, and input of neighbors, even the littlest ones.
Kids Cafes provide prepared meals to kids enrolled in Central Florida Head Start programs, schools and after-school programs. It’s important to the food bank staff running the programs to receive feedback on the menus, and they make sure to regularly check in with the kids for their opinions.
“We like to have our neighbors and customers input on the quality, consistency, and type of meals they prefer to ensure that meals are being consumed and enjoyed,” said Nancy Brumbaugh, Second Harvest’s Chief Food Services Officer. “We want our meals to be appealing to provide our participants with healthy nutritious meals that are also culturally appropriate.”
Kids Café is part of the larger effort of the Food Services department, which provides meals for 73 sites throughout Central Florida for seven different programs. The total meals sent to these programs is around 7,500 meals daily.
Voices of young neighbors have shaped changes to Kids Cafes since the beginning, she said.
“In year one, we produced cold meals for the after-school program,” Nancy explained. “Our participants voiced the desire for hot food; for many it was the last meal of the day.”
Changes to what’s on the hot-meal menu are ongoing and evolving, and recently, all age groups and programs have been surveyed on their preferences.
At an Orlando Head Start, Central Kitchen Coordinator Mary Ann Moses brought flash-card photos of different foods and polled a group of 4-year-olds on their likes and dislikes. They had a green smiley face to hold up if they liked it, and a red sad face if they didn’t.
Every hand went up with a green face for spaghetti and chicken nuggets, but there weren’t too many fans of broccoli and green beans. Carrots and corn did fairly well, however.
Spaghetti seems to be a universal favorite among the age groups, because the elementary-aged kids in the Orange County Parks and Recreations Rec Squad after-school program prefer the dish, too.
Teacher Ebony Sanders asked the kids to go around the room and tell Second Harvest staff their favorite menu items.
“Chili,” said one. “With the chips.”
Lasagna and pot roast are likely to stay on the menu, too.
“The lasagna is just like my grandma’s,” one child wrote on their survey.
“I like the pot roast and rice,” wrote another. “It is my favorite new item.”
Ebony said they like the carrots and ranch more than the salad, and the pizza is a crowd pleaser. She always creates a “share table” for the leftover meals in case someone is still hungry.
“You can tell when they need some more,” she said. “I like the fact that no one can go hungry, and (Second Harvest) cares about what they like.”
The food bank records all the survey results and implements menu changes based on the findings.
“If the new menu items test well, we will put them on the menu and cycle off any less than desirable menu items,” Nancy explained. “When we involve the kids in the decision-making process, they encourage others to try new items. The sites enjoy having our chefs and staff visiting them with new items and listening to their feedback.”
Most recently, meal services introduced nine new menu items to Kids Cafes.
“They liked the pot roast with rice, Cuban sandwiches, chili dip, Spanish chicken (refried beans & rice), Salisbury steak, lasagna, corn bread and spaghetti,” Nancy said. “The least favorites were chicken salad, tuna salad and grilled cheese. Additional feedback included soggy buns — which perhaps we pack on the side, more seasoning, and also requested wings or chicken with fries.”
Nancy said surveying focus groups is the best advantage to producing the food bank’s own meals.
“We have conducted focus groups since we started our production kitchen and have made additions and adjustments based on feedback since,” she said. “We are committed to finding ways to include neighbor voice in all our programs.”
