Following a crash course in newsgathering techniques, Camden City high school students applied their knowledge to researching the state of school lunches and the nutritional value of the food in their schools. They concluded their study by interviewing the head of food services for the Camden City School District.
The project was spearheaded with a dozen students in the Food Bank of South Jersey’s Camden Youth Advisory Council (CYAC) program. The Camden Youth Advisory Council (CYAC) is a citywide youth leadership program made up of middle and high school students from across Camden City schools. Members advocate for issues affecting the health and wellness of Camden residents and serve as an advisory board for Full Futures, the Campbell Soup Company-funded School Food Collective, helping shape initiatives to improve school nutrition.
For four sessions, they worked with Healthy NewsWorks’ Steve Riggs and immersed themselves in a crash course on identifying news, finding sources, and interviewing etiquette. Then they went to work.
Through passionate and sometimes heated discussions, the high schoolers had some strong yet respectful opinions about the breakfast and lunches being served. The students also had concerns about the food choices people make in their surrounding communities.
The students decided to formulate questions and present them to Ms. Arlethia Brown, head of food services who serves as senior director of nutrition.
What was supposed to be a 45-minute interview turned into almost a 2-hour eye-opening discussion. The reporters were passionate and professional with their questions. And Ms. Brown answered each question with the same amount of passion and provided the reporters with some facts and challenges about providing students with healthy food choices.
Below are some of the questions and highlights from the in-depth interview. The questions and answers have been slightly edited.
Question: How are lunch menus developed for students?
Ms. Brown: There is a process. Breakfast and lunches are provided by food providers or vendors. We collect information from staff and students to determine how to best provide for the district. Camden City is a very large school district, and some providers do not have the capacity to serve such a large district. Providers give presentations to the school board. Bids are put in, and contracts usually run for five years. Right now, we are in year four of our current contract.
Question: Who decides what is on the menu?
Ms. Brown: There are many factors. The food providers provide the menu and inform the district what food is available. And then there is cost. How much does the district have to spend? The school district must work within a specified budget. We have to make sure the food is nutritional. There is also an important factor in seasonality. Some foods are not available during certain seasons. We focus on getting fruits and vegetables grown within the United States.
Question: What steps are taken to make sure students are getting nutritional lunches?
Ms. Brown: We are regulated to meet the standards required by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Our food providers/vendors must meet the standards set forth by the health department. We must ensure that students are getting proper portions and receiving proper salt requirements, getting nutrition from the five food groups. We are required to monitor sugar intake. We go above and beyond to meet federal and state requirements. And I cannot stress enough that we must stay within budget. We spend money on a breakfast program and even though breakfast is free, many students do not show up for breakfast.
Question: What would you improve if you had more financial resources?
Ms. Brown: If we had more resources, I would love to have more chefs and have food prepared on campuses. I would also love to have music playing in the cafeteria and give the students a cafe´ style experience.
Question: How do you deal with student preferences versus state guidelines?
Ms. Brown: It’s very tough, but we try to find a balance. What students may prefer may be different from the regulated guidelines and “must’ be within the district budget. We can gain more insights from sitting and having round-table discussions and talks like this.
Question: What is the biggest challenge in providing healthy meals?
Ms. Brown: One challenge is having full access to farmers. Farmers see us as viable customers, but some don’t know they could serve school districts. Therefore, we are trying to cultivate those relationships. Another challenge is making sure students show up to our food programs. And we try to continue to educate students and the community about processed foods.
Question: How can schools make food more appealing?
Ms. Brown: We eat with our eyes first. That is why we are grateful for our partners like the South Jersey Food Bank that are helping with this process. Our goal is to follow the state and federal guidelines while improving the flavor and quality of our nutrition program. Students should be offered colorful healthy options and should have options for different types of healthy options.
For more information about the Food Bank of South Jersey and the Camden Youth Advisory Council, visit www.foodbanksj.org or their Facebook page Shout-out to Camden | Facebook.
Illustration by Serenity, 4th grade, Catto, 2025-26.
