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| A student enjoys a meal at the "150-Mile Picnic" |
The Hill School food service department prides itself on the variety and healthiness of food it serves to our students every day. “While we are required to provide 7,000 to 8,000 meals every week appealing to a wide variety of tastes and preferences, we also are the ‘home kitchen’ to all boarding students and faculty families" states Abby Gallagher, director of food services at The Hill School. “We are the friendly faces every day that welcome students to their first and last meal of the day."
Gallagher and her staff of 30 full-time and part-time employees and four managers are always making changes to the menu to help meet the needs of both our students and faculty members. Recent additions include display cooking, a healthy bar, daily vegan and vegetarian choices, a wide variety at the salad bar, fresh sautéed vegetables, and of course our freshly baked and home-made desserts.
Another way of serving up variety is by offering special meal options such as a soft pretzel bar at lunch, or “make your own nachos” at dinner. Additionally, the dining services staff has helped with the School’s sustainability efforts by hosting a “
150-mile Picnic” that was designed to limit waste through composting, recycling, and using “green” items. All the fresh, seasonal foods served at the meal were from local farms and businesses.
The dining staff isn’t alone when it comes to making changes to the offerings in the Dining Room. Gallagher meets bi-weekly with the Campus Food Committee, which is comprised of 17 students and four faculty members. This committee offers ongoing feedback to the staff about how to make improvements to Hill's dining experience.
"It has opened up a line of communication," said Gallagher. “The Food Committee makes great, insightful suggestions for things that we may not notice on a daily basis. The committee members recommended a ‘Fun Fruit Day,’ which we added to our specials list, and recently helped out with a ‘Smoothie Special’ at breakfast.”
While we always have healthy options available at ever meal, chicken fingers still are one of the favorite meals shared by students and faculty. Approximately 400 pounds of chicken fingers are used in serving this popular dish. Other fun statistics: 220 pounds of meat used on taco day; 780 personal pizzas for pizza meals; and, when mashed potatoes are served, the school uses 120 pounds of peeled potatoes, four pounds of margarine, and three gallons of milk to make the perfect mashed potatoes.
Gallagher and her staff strive hard to make sure students and faculty have enough variety and by increasing their menu to offer more options they are well on their way to achieving and maintaining that goal.