As Butler County schools ready for the fall semester, food service staff are gearing up to provide meals to the incoming scholars.

But today's cafeteria workers face a minefield of complicated choices and options than in the past, when it was fish every Friday and Johnny Marzetti casserole made regular appearances on school menus.

In the 21st century, it's a whole new world of vegan options, gluten allergies and the dangers of lunch shaming.

Food service managers in the county's schools have to please both the evermore sophisticated palates of students and the nutrition requirements of the federal government.

The feds get a say because of the National School Lunch Program, a federally assisted meal program operating in more than 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions.

It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 31 million children each school day.

The Food and Nutrition Service administers the program at the federal level. At the state level, the program is usually administered by state education agencies, which operate the program through agreements with school food authorities.

School districts and independent schools that choose to take part in the lunch program get USDA food and cash subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for each meal they serve.

In return, they must serve lunches that meet federal requirements, and they must offer free or reduced price lunches to eligible children.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Education oversees the (school lunch) program in accordance with federal regulations and guidelines,” said Casey Smith, acting communications director for the department.

Nutrition is all well and good, but the most nutritious meal in the world is useless unless its eaten.

That's why cafeteria offerings have come a long way from chipped beef.

Jodee Raybuck is the regional manager for The Nutrition Group which serves breakfast and lunch at all four of the South Butler County School District's buildings.

Breakfast costs $1.35 at the primary and intermediate schools and $1.60 at the middle and high schools, she said.

“For this price, students can start their day with their choice of chilled juice, fresh fruit, fat-free milk and whole grains/lean proteins,” Raybuck said.

She said lunch prices are $2.35 and $2.60, respectively, with options including fresh and steamed vegetables, whole fruits, whole grains, fat free milk and lean proteins.

“There are several varieties of fruit and vegetables for the students to chose from every day, as well as several different entrees,” she said.

“Students all have a prepaid account they use to purchase any meals or a la carte. They also have the option of paying cash the day of their purchase,” Raybuck added.

The Butler School District food service manager, Ron Rick, said once the school year gets started Aug. 30, the district will average around 2,600 lunches and 760 breakfasts daily.

In Butler district schools, Rick said lunch costs $2.25 at the elementary level and $2.50 at the secondary level.

“Students buy single meals daily. Parents can deposit funds into individual student accounts to avoid the need to send money daily. Deposits can be made on site in the schools or online,” Rick said.

“The menu is evaluated monthly to include local produce and seasonal favorites. The menu is also evaluated for student popularity,” said Rick.

Darlene Carmack, the director of food and nutrition for the Seneca Valley School District which serves 4,600 meals a day, said, “School lunch has changed dramatically since the '50s. We can all be thankful to Michelle Obama and the passing of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.

“Through this act, our children are now being offered whole grains and rainbows of different colored fruits and vegetables on a daily basis throughout our great nation,” Carmack said.

She added, “At Seneca Valley we offer unlimited fruits and vegetables with each meal purchased, breakfast and lunch.”

Elementary lunches are $2.25 and secondary lunches are $2.75, she said.

“The registers and meal tickets as we remember them are gone. In this district as in most districts in Pennsylvania, a point of sale system has replaced the antiquated cash register,” said Carmack.

She said, “These systems manage student balances and track purchases. Parents can create accounts on 'My School Bucks,' an online payment system where they can track their child's purchases (for free) or put money directly into a student's account (for a small fee). They may also use cash or pay by check. Very little cash is exchanged.”In an effort to reduce wasted food, leftovers are often recycled into other dishes.Raybuck said, “While we strive to have accurate production and minimal waste, we work to reinvent leftovers while keeping the quality expected in our meals.“As far as student waste, we use variety to minimize this. While a student must select a fruit or a vegetable for their meal to qualify as reimbursable, we offer a large variety of these items so that the student can find something they enjoy and will eat,” she added.Carmack said, “Our production is very tight as we have very detailed production sheets as to what was used the year, month, day before. If there are any lunches left over, the entree is repurposed into a soup, wrap or salad and is out the door the next day.”Still, Raybuck said, “Students' taste and preferences in food are always changing. The 'strange' requests of yesterday have become the popular meals of today.“The cafeteria experience has moved from a one-choice lunch to a 10 to 12 entree choice meal service. Items such as hummus and shaker salads have become common even while home-cooked Thanksgiving dinners remain student favorites,” she said.Popular lunch items in the Butler School District, said Rick, include the Tuscan sandwich, the popcorn chicken bowl and the sweet and spicy BBQ chicken bowl.Raybuck said for the South Butler School District, “Our most popular lunches range from Popcorn Chicken Bowls with mashed potatoes, steamed corn, shredded cheddar cheese and gravy to Buffalo Chicken Paninis to our special Knoch Burger.“Our home-style pizza is continuously requested and Breakfast for Lunch will always be a favorite,” she said.Seneca Valley's Carmack said, the schools will be serving some of the healthiest foods in the community: quinoa, hummus and whole grains.Raybuck said for the new school year, The Nutrition Group is introducing digital, interactive menus for the students and parents of the district through Nutrislice.“They will be able to customize their menus through this program as well as download the app to have the convenience of viewing menus, entree descriptions and pictures, nutritional information, ingredients and information on special programs at the tap of a button on their chosen device,” she said.“Nutrislice also allows parents and students to filter the menus for allergens and view carbohydrate counts. Menus are planned and posted monthly,” Raybuck said.With technology, the days of school lunch tickets and menus announced over the public address system are going the way of mystery meat Fridays.