A Taste of Change: Nourish x Duluth Community School Collaborative
The sun filtered through the large windows of the Lincoln Park Middle School cafeteria as Cane, a fourth-grade student, and Sadie, a representative from the Duluth Community School Collaborative, dished up plates for all of the students who would soon rush out of the Library for lunchtime. Seeing the excitement and eagerness to see what was on the menu for the day's lunch, it was clear the students were intrigued by the new foods on their menu all week.
It was Friday, April 8, 2026, the last day of the Nourish and the Duluth Community School Collaborative. The staff and students couldn’t have had more to say about the program. To them, it was clearly more than just a meal program, it was an evolving experiment designed to bridge the gap between nutrition and the picky palates of young students in our community.
The energy revolving around the meal that day was split down the middle. The menu was seasoned chickpea and bell pepper tacos in a corn tortilla alongside a slice of carrot cake. All students were encouraged to try the food provided by the nourish program, and more than half the students embraced the new, fresh food with enthusiasm. Evie, a sixth-grader, was heard calling out across the lunchroom, “Can I get some more chickpeas, please?” For students like Evie, the cold seasoned legumes were a smashing “hit”. She described how meat is usually the main focus of meals and stated simply, “I’m not always in the mood for meat.”
On the other side of the aisle, the students who were not begging for seconds had the most issues with the unfamiliar textures and temperatures of the foods served throughout the week. Many students had a problem with eating cold meat on chicken sandwich day. Cooked vegetables were also a concern for many kids, as multiple students shared sentiments similar to this: “I like vegetables, I just don’t like them cooked. Some are just better raw.”
As students finished up their chickpea tacos and moved on to dessert, it was clear they didn’t see the carrot cake as a “health food”. Many students had tried it before, and those who hadn’t could hardly believe there was a vegetable in it at all!
While the carrot cake and yogurt parfaits, filled with blueberries and raspberries, were easy wins with the students, the main courses were only standouts for a few students. The lemon pasta served on Wednesday and quinoa bowls served Thursday were frequently cited as favorites, but the kids weren’t shy about offering us some advice on what would make the dishes better. The students talked amongst themselves about what kind of sauces they would have added to the foods, and the overall sentiment was that they wanted the sauce for a more familiar flavor.
Staff working at the weeklong program pointed out that Students in “Cooking Club” were far more willing to try the foods that looked “different”, and as the week went on, all students were more willing to try the new foods. A staff member stated, “It can take fifteen times trying a thing before kids know if they like it or not. This program was a way to kinda keep exposing them to healthy food.” The staff at the school is hopeful that more programs like this will come around to continue exposing students to healthy and nourishing food choices. The weeklong program proved that while the road to healthy eating is paved with some “misses” and cold chicken sandwiches, it's also paved with quinoa, fresh berries, and an occasional, life-changing piece of carrot cake!