Denver Public Schools initiative allows students to decide school lunch menus, sees early success

Denver Public Schools is allowing some students to decide what they get for a school lunch. The district has launched student Food and Health Councils at several schools -- with a goal of expanding to more. 

The first council started at George Washington High School last year, and since then they've added councils at two additional schools. Recently, they all met up to learn more about the food they're making decisions on.

"We say to all of our councils, your job is to make school lunch cool," said Lindsey Long, a registered dietitian and community outreach coordinator at DPS. "Your job is to teach the kids about the scratch cooking, about the greenhouse, about the farm, and to empower your other students to make the healthiest possible choice. And the students are jazzed about it."

For the first time, student from Food and Health Councils from George Washington High School, North High School and Lake Middle School held a meeting of the minds. They toured one of the district's urban farms and its greenhouse to gain a greater appreciation for the food they are served and how it's grown.

These students have an important role.

"It's really important," said Josephina Cobbina, a student at George Washington High School.

That role is to provide input on what's served for lunch. 

"The idea came out of really wanting to incorporate student voice into our meals," said Long. "So not just guessing what the students want to eat, but really incorporating what they like, what they don't like, trends, food trends that are coming up."

In its first full year, the initiative has been a resounding success.

"We saw a 300% increase in the amount of students eating school meals," said Long. "Now, outside of that being awesome for the district, when you talk about Denver Public Schools food, we are 75% scratch cooking."

From ramen bowls to a salad bar inspired by a popular fast casual restaurant, the students have come up with some deliciously creative ideas.

"Sometimes I don't want to eat lunch at school because... I don't know, it looks weird or it smells bad, and I don't want other kids who can't eat at home to feel the same way," said Lake Middle School student Eislie Bennett.

In the coming years, the hope is to make student input the standard for creating school lunch. 

"The broader vision for the student Food and Health Council is to make sure that we have a representation of the council in every corner of the Denver Public School District so that we hear all student voices from the middle school level to the high school level," said Long.