Back to school, and the lunch line

[ Originally published on: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 ]

They are crispy and crunchy -- and are the favorite of youngsters throughout Franklin County.

And, because of this, they landed as the first-day-of-school meal for several schools throughout the county.

They are the chicken patty and chicken nuggets.

Greenfield, Gill-Montague and Sunderland Elementary schools will be serving chicken nuggets, which students often dunk in a variety of condiments, like ketchup and ranch dressing. Frontier Regional School will be serving its students chicken patties, which are traditionally served on a bun.

''It is a comfort food,'' said Deb Zimnowski, food service director at Frontier and Sunderland, who sat at a cafeteria table as a half dozen of her staffers started to prepare for the first day of school.

Schools across the county are opening their doors this week for the new school year, and others follow next week.

But days before the students return, food and cafeteria staffers are busy at work, cleaning the kitchens and starting to prepare the meals for the hundreds of hungry students who will soon sit down to eat in their cafeterias.

Jim Loynd, Gill-Montague's food manager, whose staff has been busy preparing for the first day on Thursday, said chicken nuggets are a relatively easy food to prepare and serve, and are widely accepted and received by the hungry, sometimes picky students.

Many of the schools will be pairing the popular food with healthy sides, like fresh fruits, vegetables and baked chips.

 

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