Healthy living: Steam ovens replace deep fryers in Rainbow School cafeterias

Rainbow District School Board Vice-Chair Doreen Dewar and Director of Education Jean Hanson get a first-hand look at the new steam oven with Chartwells staff member Rachel Bellisle.

Rainbow District School Board Vice-Chair Doreen Dewar and Director of Education Jean Hanson join Grade 12 students Mike McCue, left, Laura Penny, and Tanner Warren who are enjoying food prepared in the new steam oven at Lockerby Composite School.

Grade 12 students Mike McCue, left, Laura Penny, and Tanner Warren enjoy food prepared in the new steam oven at Lockerby Composite School. Serving the students is Sue Bellisle, the Chartwells Supervisor at Lockerby.

Chartwells staff member Rachel Bellisle puts fries in one of the new Rationale Energy Efficient Ovens that have replaced deep fryers in Rainbow District School Board cafeterias.

Fried foods are no longer being served in school cafeterias within the Rainbow District School Board in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin. A total of 10 deep fryers have been removed from school cafeterias and replaced with Rationale Energy Efficient Ovens.

“The era of deep fried foods has come to an end,” said Rainbow District School Board Chair Tyler Campbell. “Our school cafeterias are now serving baked products as part of our ongoing efforts to offer healthier food choices for all students in Rainbow Schools.”

He added: “With the changes that we have made to our school cafeterias, we are well positioned to meet the Nutrition Standards for Schools recently released by the Province of Ontario.” The nutrition standards, part of Ontario’s new School Food and Beverage Policy, come into effect on September 1st, 2011.  

“Deep fryers have been in place in our schools since they opened,” said Director of Education Jean Hanson, “so this represents a significant shift in how we operate our school cafeterias.” She added: “The installation of steam ovens is a tangible example of our commitment to promoting healthy living for now and for the future.”

The Rainbow District School Board’s cafeterias are operated by Chartwells, a Compass Group Canada company. Chartwells serves 800 schools across Canada, including 35 school boards in Ontario. Rainbow District School Board renewed its contract with Chartwells in June 2009. The contract included replacing deep fryers with steam ovens.

"We are very pleased to continue our relationship with the Rainbow District School Board,” said Ross Munro, President of Chartwells. “Our long-term partnership has been successful and we welcome the opportunity to continue the provision of healthy meals to students."

The installation of steam ovens complements Chartwells’ Balanced Choices® nutritional program, which provides students with a varied selection of healthy food options. All Chartwells schools have a menu that highlights healthy food options as well as a school nutrition policy that provides guidelines for dining facilities and vending machines.

The nutrition policy promotes standards such as a value-priced Balanced Choices® combo feature containing a minimum of three food groups found in Canada’s Food Guide; menu items that are prepared in a healthier way; sandwiches using whole grain products and lower-fat fillings; and freshly prepared salads and vegetables served with reduced fat salad dressing or dips.

-30-

Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,

Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,

Rainbow District School Board, 674-3171, ext. 7217.

History of Chartwells in Rainbow Schools

Chartwells has been the food service provider for most of Rainbow District School Board’s schools since 1998. Since 2003, Chartwells has operated all secondary school cafeterias. Chartwells also operates two elementary school cafeterias in the Board.

In 2009, Chartwells was awarded the contract to continue providing food services. Chartwells is meeting the Board’s nutrition standards, shares the Board’s focus on sustainability, and continues to improve food services through innovation and responsiveness.

Healthy Food Choices

Chartwells currently offer menus that include a variety of healthy food choices, which meet the nutritional standards of the Ontario EatSmart! program.  These standards ensure customers can purchase a healthy meal at a lower price and also have access to a variety of vegetables and fruit choices as well as sandwiches made with whole grain breads. Some popular examples include pizza made with whole wheat crust, fresh apples with caramel, whole wheat baked tortilla wedges and salsa, fruit and yogurt parfaits, and homemade soup. The sale of fries has continued to decline each year in Rainbow Schools as students make other food choices.  Snacks and sandwiches are made with a minimum of 75% whole grain.

Healthy Food Preparation and Focus on Sustainability

Another important aspect of serving healthy foods is preparing foods in a healthier way. Investing in steam ovens and removing deep fryers has resulted in an overall reduction in fat and calories in some of the traditionally popular foods.  The steam ovens also use less electricity as they require less time to heat up and have replaced several pieces of equipment. Chartwells has also removed old refrigeration units and replaced them with energy efficient units. 

Meeting the New Nutrition Standards for Schools

Chartwells is working towards meeting the new Ontario Nutrition Standards for Schools coming in September 2011. The steps being taken in order to realize a successful transition for all food services operations in schools include: 

•    A review of all products currently used in order to identify any products that do not meet the nutrition standards. Products will be modified or removed as required.

•    A commitment to continue developing recipes, food programs and menus that will be tested in schools in 2010 to ensure the right menus are launched in September 2011.

•    The provision of training for Chartwells associates regarding the new standards and food programs to ensure they are ready for September 2011.