Farmington students weigh in on improving school lunches

How Farmington Municipal Schools is improving school lunches

Students at Farmington Municipal Schools are getting a voice when it comes to what they're eating for lunch, and it all starts with a blind taste test.

FARMINGTON N.M. — Lunch in the school cafeteria isn’t always the best tasting but students at Farmington Municipal Schools are getting to decide what is served.

It all starts with a blind taste test.

Students lined up Thursday to test out four different chicken nugget manufacturers. The nuggets with the most votes will be served in the district for the following year.

District officials say this is the perfect way to get feedback from students on what food they serve.

“Ultimately, we want their meals to be not just nutritious but also delicious. So sometimes the adults may think one way and think that kids might like a thing. But it’s better to go to your customers to get their opinion,” said Neil Harmire, an Albuquerque nugget food broker.

Marie Johnson, the student nutrition coordinator at Farmington Municipal Schools who made this all possible, said, “The idea was there and because people who know Marie Johnson know I can really put the pressure on folks so they know that it’s important to kids. It was an easy sell.”

It’s clear students are loving the variety they get to choose from and being part of the process.

“It was really cool to be able to choose which ones that you would want for the next year. Me and my friend tried to come back for seconds. I tried to make him go first to see what would happen,” said Brixton, a student at Farmington Middle School.

Turns out, they’re not as sneaky as they thought.

“I just took off my hoodie but then a teacher caught me.”

The fan favorite?

“Number four, hands down,” Easton said.

“My favorite was also number four because of its crunch and it could just tear apart,” Brixton said.