Seven weeks before 57,000 Jordan School District students return to school, Jordan’s Director of Nutrition Services Katie Bastian is already deep into planning breakfasts and lunches, placing food orders and prepping staff to guide kindergartners through cafeteria lines.

“Food is what we do; I have a team of more than 500 staff members to get it done,” Bastian said.

Jordan, Utah’s fourth-largest school district, serves about 35,000 meals daily across 64 schools during the school year, plus up to 1,000 during summer lunch programs. Meals comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which sets limits on calories, sodium, fat and sugar while emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy.

Bastian said students typically choose from five components: meat or a substitute, grain, fruit, vegetable and (fluid) milk. She follows USDA standards, which continue to evolve.

“Most children, like most Americans, are consuming too much added sugars and sodium and not enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains,” Bastian said. “We always want to make the food as delicious and appealing as possible.”

This fall marks the start of a gradual USDA rollout reducing added sugars and sodium through 2027. At the same time, Utah passed HB402 banning synthetic food dyes in schools by 2026–27.

“A lot of our K-12 specific food items don't have a lot of dyes in them,” she said, but the district is reviewing cereals, Jell-O, sprinkles and other products.

Bastian is also educating families on HB100, which eliminates reduced-price meals — now all students who qualify get them for free.

“It is definitely a juggling act. You would think feeding kids wouldn’t be as complicated as it is, but I have a staff of about nine here in my office who help,” she said. 

Elementary schools’ menus, which follow daily and weekly nutrition targets, offer two choices daily; secondary students have 25 or more. There also are vegetarian and allergy-sensitive meals.

“They'll have the main line, then three or four different hot sandwiches, four different varieties of pizza, three different kinds of salad, mini corn dogs and more,” she said. 

Food ordering is districtwide and based on prior year participation. Bastian uses USDA commodities and works with approved processors to buy in bulk. She purchases several hundred thousand pounds of chicken, beef or pork as well as about 1.2 million pounds of potatoes.

“We try and bring pretty much all high usage items into our warehouse to save money, except for fries; we go through a lot of fries,” she said.

Elementary menus run on six-week cycles, secondary on four. Menu committees replace unpopular meals such as Shepherd’s Pie and introduce new recipes, some of which are requested by families. When they had leftover hash browns, the team created a cheesy potato dish.

“The kids loved it and our staff is skilled enough to try new recipes,” Bastian said. “We make as much as we can from scratch.”

That includes bread items, lasagna, mac and cheese and soup made in the school kitchens. Even kid-favorites such as corn dogs are made healthier. 

“Our corn dogs are low fat, low salt, the dog in the middle is chicken,” she said.

Student feedback plays a role, too. Dietitian interns conduct taste tests with students, guiding menu additions including Asian-inspired dishes.

“We try to offer what they like as well as balancing what's healthy for them,” Bastian said.

She also coordinates with JATC South students, who supply fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce for the salad bars in the summer, and with local farmers during the school year to provide apples for Apple Crunch Day and peaches for a Peach Day. She further offers fun meals for students from diverse cuisines for multicultural days to Take Me Out to the Ball Game Day, with hamburgers, hot dogs and a sampling of root beer. 

“There has definitely been changes in nutrition services,” Bastian said, now in her third year as director after 14 as a dietitian and recently was a speaker at the state’s 4th Annual Food Safety Conference. “We’re trying to focus on more fruits and vegetables and the connection of making healthy choices when they're kids, which will follow them throughout their lives.”

She believes school meals have shed their bad reputation.

“The school lunch stigma that the food is gross doesn’t hold true anymore,” Bastian said. “The cafeteria is a welcoming place, with healthy, delicious food which gives students the energy they need and it’s a social time with your friends. I want it to be one of the best parts of their day.”