Local school officials have made slight decreases to lunch portions served to students in grades kindergarten through 4 to bring those servings more in line with Texas Department of Agriculture guidelines.

Judy Grant, director of food services for Big Spring Independent School District, said the changes should also result in lower food costs for the district.

Until recently, children in the elementary grades were receiving the same size portions as those in the middle and high school grades, which ran counter to state recommendations and cost the district more.

“We have been terribly over-budget the past few years. During an audit, we were told we spend $150 more per child per school year than other school districts,” Grant said. “Before, we didn't have the technology to provide different-sized portions ... We were serving children in the lower grades the same amount of food as children at the junior high and high school level.”

With the acquisition of new computer software, however, food service officials have begun streamlining operations.

The software, called NutriKids, monitors all aspects of student menus, from nutritional value of meals to portion sizes, Grant said.

“There was a ton of food being wasted in the lower grades,” Grant said. “The portions were just too big for the little kids.”

The biggest impact in the streamlined menus are in how portions for fruits and vegetables and meat and offered. Grant said those portions for elementary students have been reduced to a half-cup of fruits and vegetables and 1.5 ounces of meat.

Other portions are basically unchanged, she added.

The new system was instituted in all BSISD elementary campuses within the past few weeks and Grant hopes the transition will be relatively seamless.

“It has been a process,” she said. “It's involved a lot of time and training ... and it's been very time-consuming. But in the end, menus will be in compliance with what we're supposed to be serving.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it