The state FoodWIse program is partnering with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to improve the school cafeteria environment for elementary school students across the state. They reached out to local Nutrition Educators in Fond du Lac County to partner with specific schools within the Fond du Lac School District. 

Melanie Phillips built a team for this project which consists of FoodWIse, Riverside Elementary School school food service, and Chartwells (district food service) to implement the “School Meal Appeal” program. Each participating school across the state, including Riverside Elementary, received $1,000 to put towards the project. Melanie led team meetings to discuss the timeline for the project, the roles and responsibilities of each partner, and to determine overall project goals. 

As a result of this partnership, the team has completed the “Food Meal Appeal” assessment, which is a review of each individual school’s unique cafeteria environment. This is a tool that is used to evaluate the Riverside cafeteria and help identify strategies for implementation to improve participation in the school nutrition program and healthy eating habits among students in the lunchroom. Following the assessment, the team identified multiple strategies to work on in the upcoming school year. Some strategies are relatively quick, easy, and free of cost, while others may require greater time or financial commitment.