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(Photo Courtesy Granite School District)SALT LAKE CITY -- School lunch isn't what it used to be.
Those who put together the menus for Granite School District say what you see on TV is much different from the multitude of choices, colors and tastes on the lunch menu today.
For instance, Granite now has lettuce wraps for junior and senior high schools.
"We are constantly evolving. We just rolled this out March 1, and we'll see what items work really well. We have to see what the kids are thinking," says Jeff Gratton, director of adult dining for the Granite School District.
Gratton says it's all about choice and nutrition now for students.
"When I went to school it was, 'Here's your food. That's it. Take it or leave it,'" he says. "Now we have deli sandwiches, a salad bar, [and] a salsa bar where they can create their own Mexican dish."
Gratton says elementary school children have six options a day; it goes up to 12 or 13 for high school students.
The lettuce wraps are made with the same ingredients the schools already had, but presented in a different way: they include romaine lettuce to be healthier.
Gratton says the rice bowls have brown rice, and other dishes use whole wheat to be as healthy as possible.
"We really try to treat them as consumers, not just 'they are kids and have to eat lunch,'" he says. "We know we can give them a more healthy, nutritious, better costing meal than they can ever get outside our four walls."
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
