Remember school lunch from the cafeteria? I remember buying bags of chips & cheese doodles mostly, also those whipped cream filled cakes… yodels I think? Or ding-dongs… I remember french fries were a staple and everyone got excited when it was chicken nugget day (aka nuggets of breading with a bit of chicken inside). In short, there was nothing healthy about it.

School cafeteria food has been the focus of media attention throughout the past few years as society’s new interest in healthy eating has trickled down to the educational system. Well-funded private schools began to outsource food providers that focus on well-balanced healthy meals that also taste good. After President Obama’s two daughters started attending Sidwell Friends in Washington, DC, TMZ posted a copy of the cafeteria menu online. Snacks include zucchini bread, roasted veggie melts, organic spinach salad, fresh fruit, and graham crackers among others. It may be strange to refer to a school lunch as a main course, but that’s what these dishes sound like- cheese tortellini with garden marinara, spicy organic black bean tortillas, all natural Shepard’s pie, roasted chicken tenderloins… you get the idea.

Drink of Water blog posted up the lunch menu of Barcroft Elementary in Arlington Virginia to compare choices. The students at Barcroft can choose from corn dog nuggets, pizza dippers, and something called fish treasures. Children of less financially fortunate schools are fed grilled processed cheese sandwiches with barbeque sauce composed of ketchup and jelly, and it’s just not adding up.

Chef Bill Telepan not only agreed- he did something about it. Owner of NYC’s renowned Telepan restaurant, Bill Telepan has a reputation for incorporating fresh and locally grown ingredients into his cooking. Bill has been frequenting green markets since 1991, before it was the cool thing to do, and remains passionate about quality food. His passion has reached the kitchen of P.S. 87 on the Upper West Side, the elementary school where his daughter attends classes.

What began as a once-a-week volunteering gig in the cafeteria has turned into a revolution of the school’s entire food program. With the aid of Wellness in the Schools, an organization focused on bringing health and nutrition to NYC public schools, Bill Telepan is helping to make vital changes to the system.

“I realized people weren’t working well with what they have. Why open canned green beans first and wait for the [fresh] cauliflower to get old? Why steam canned ravioli for an hour? Take something as simple as a salad bar. If the lettuce is brown and all you have with it are some chopped onions, the kids aren’t going to eat it,” said Bill.

He began his mission by introducing a salad bar full of fresh produce and whole wheat pasta salad and by teaching kitchen workers how to prepare simple wraps and other recipes. Bill, along with the Wellness in the Schools workers, then worked towards the elimination of what they called “The Top 10 Bad Foods.” The list included breaded chicken products, french fries, cold cuts with nitrates, and corn syrup filled peanut butter.

The healthy lunch program has already expanded to P.S. 84 and Muscata/Amistad in Inwood, and is in the process of being introduced to eight more schools. And in a truly intelligent move, students from the French Culinary Institute have been recruited to help promote the program and balance out staff shortages.

Muscata parent association president Shannon Park explained, “Bill is a child advocate. He was able to answer questions about policy, school food politics, calories, sodium— all the things we really didn’t know. He could communicate effectively with the school food people. He believes you don’t need to dumb down to children. They deserve to have their palates inspired and they understand good-quality food.”