Healthy school lunch initiative launches at Indianapolis high school

INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday morning, Talaya Jackson is working on getting lunch ready at Purdue Polytechnic High School.

The start of the school year has come with changes to food menus and the way things are prepared.

"We have a new five-week rotating menu with fresh ingredients and produce on it, a lot of more scratch kitchen," said Jackson, the food service manager.

WRTV

This year, the school is focusing on offering healthier and more environmentally options.

Five mayor-sponsored charter schools are participating in Ahimsa's Conscious Cafeteria Project, a program focused on transitioning from single-use food-ware to reusable steel, promoting sustainability and healthier practices in school cafeterias.

The school is also working on the healthier food options with the Patachou Foundation.

WRTV

"Re-imagining what school lunch can be," said Matthew Feltrop, the executive director for the Patachou Foundation.

In Indiana, one in five kids face food insecurity and one in three kids are overweight or obese.

"That statistic really is screaming that we have to do something different. School food is such a potential for impacting those health outcomes," said Feltrop.

WRTV

Healthier lunches also come about after a push from students.

Elisabeth Scott-Paul is a junior at the school and was apart of that effort. She says as a vegetarian, there wasn't much on the menu she could eat.

WATCH | Students at Brookside Elementary are learning to make healthier food choices

"I ended up having to pack my own lunches and I thought back to when I was younger when I could not have afforded to be able to do that. That was what really set me into wanting to do this," said Scott-Paul.

In the past few weeks, Scott-Paul says she's noticed a difference the classroom.

WRTV

"Now, the food is actually filling and I don’t feel foggy after eating it," said Scott-Paul.

"It’s really big for me because I'm a part of something that is creating healthy eaters," said Jackson.