Georgetown food show gets high score

GEORGETOWN (KXAN) - Georgetown students and parents on Wednesday got to sink their teeth into food that could possibly be on the lunch menu next year. 

Georgetown ISD held it's 10th Annual Food Show at Douglas Benold Middle School.

"It's really impressive that they're giving parents a chance to see what's available and give an impact for next year about what might be here instead of just sending your kids off and you have no idea," said Michelle Walker whose son is in fifth grade.

The district said it wants students to have a say in what they eat.  About a 100 different companies were represented at the show.  They each had different entrees ranging from Tex-Mex, soups, sandwiches, breakfast items, healthy smoothies, and drinks.  Students and parents get to vote and circle a on a score card if a food is great, okay, or no way.

"It's fun because you're picking what could be on the menu next year you know you're in charge and stuff!" said fifth grader Mackenzy Mouton. 

The district brought in 300 students from the different elementary and middle schools. 

"There are a lot of healthy stuff that actually taste really good like butternut squash in slushies which you don't really think of most of the time! but actually tastes really good," explained Camryn Whitman, another fifth grader.

This year there was an item called the Hooray Brownies which was actually made of spinach.  Students said they couldn't tell.

"When we started this ten years ago we did it with parents and realized that what parents might like students may not like," explained Karen Kovach the district's Nutrition Services Manager.  "In fact parents loved this meatloaf and we had meatloaf coming out of our ears, making meat loaf wraps and sandwiches and the students didn't really care for it."

It's very likely an item from Wednesday will end up on the next school year's lunch menu.  Kovach said If the a vendor is selected, they must be able to supply the products to its distributors,  meet the  Texas school food guidelines, and affordable.

In the past sushi was an entree that won.  The district tried it at the high school level, but it was not a hit.