Deb LaBounty, Columbia Heights ISD 13

Columbia Heights, like many metro-area, inner-ring suburbs, is experiencing interesting dynamics: a student population slowly declining in number while increasing in diversity. The district covers the cities of Columbia Heights, Hilltop, the southern third of Fridley, and includes five schools and a placement and a career center. Deb LaBounty has been the district’s school foodservice director for eight years. She’s someone who really knows every job that’s worked by her staff: She started her career in school foodservice washing dishes for Hopkins schools and rose through the ranks—after 16 years, she was the assistant director. She left Hopkins for the Wayzata school district to become technology supervisor. After one year, she took the top position at Columbia Heights. LaBounty is also vice president of the Minnesota School Nutrition Association.


How have the student numbers changed since your arrival eight years ago?

When I got here it was about 3,100 students, and it declined a little the first two years, then held steady at around 3,000. And in the last year to year-and-a half, we’ve been declining somewhat. Our elementary schools are almost at capacity, but it’s when they get to middle school and high school (numbers decline). I think open enrollment is partly the cause.


What changes to the department needed to be made?

(When I started) the foodservice department was about $280,000 in the hole in their fund balance, and had been for several years. In two years, we made a lot of changes, and did a half-million dollar turnaround in two years. We have right around $400,000 in our fund balance. We’ve replaced all our ovens and most equipment, and we’re installing new serving lines in the high school over Christmas.


How have student demographics changed?

We are at about 43 percent Caucasian, so we’re getting to be very diverse. We have a high population of Hispanic and Somali. We are also getting to have a very high “free and reduced (price)” meal percentage. When I got here, we were at about 40 percent free and reduced district wide, we’re now at 65 percent.


How have the changing student body changed meals?

We are trying to offer different types of food. And, like Minneapolis and surrounding districts (with increased Muslim populations), we offer very few pork items on the menu. We try to offer more ethnic foods, and we have great days when fajitas and tacos are on the menu. We also do a lot of “self-serve.” At the high school, we give them a 10-inch tortilla, we put the meat on it, but they put on everything else. We put out the rice, beans—a lot more of those type of things. The Somali population, especially in the high school, we see eating a lot of the fruits and vegetables, and aren’t as big on the main entrees.

But chicken patties are going like crazy at the high school to all the students. Chicken is big. We do buffalo wings, and today we did a breaded drumstick with mashed potatoes and gravy. And the kids at the elementary school, you’d almost think they’d never seen it before. They were so excited it was funny.


Does the district operate from central kitchen?

No, we have full on-site prep kitchens in each of our five schools. The district used to operate from a central kitchen. I guess they assumed it was more efficient, and maybe at one point and time it was—there used to be 10 schools in this district, and because of declining enrollment they closed them.

It was something that had been efficient, probably when they did casseroles and things like that, but now its not. Each school already had its own equipment—steam kettles at every school, ovens, everything was there; they just weren’t using it. It’s so much easier when they make food there, it tastes better and it’s healthier.


Do you do much from-scratch cooking at the schools?

Not that much, but we do concentrate on the fresh: fresh fruit and vegetables, sandwiches, and build-your-own items for the students. That’s probably more our concentration.


Is breakfast a large part of the district’s food program?

Our breakfast program is huge. We serve about 2,500 lunches per day, and close to 2,000 breakfasts. There’s a real need. At the high school, we’re getting a breakfast vending machine program off the ground, in addition to the regular breakfast program. I think that’s going to be interesting to watch. We’ve got a toaster and microwave with it, and the students’ pin number works in the machine. You have to have full components of breakfast to have it in a vending machine—grains, proteins, milk and fruit.


What initiatives are you working on?

I’d really like to get on board with the Farm to School program. (A program to connect schools with local farms to serve healthy meals in school cafeterias, improve student nutrition, provide health and nutrition education opportunities, and support local small farmers.) As MSNA vice president, I’m on the legislative committee, and it’s interesting because they have some really key people with Farm-to-School, and I’m hoping to get to know that a little more, and find out just how to get that done. And I think you’re going to see more of that, and it’s a good thing.

And, last year we applied for a few grants—one was Hidden Valley Ranch, which gave out 50 grants nationwide, and we were the one district in Minnesota that got a $10,000 grant. One of the things we’re doing is promoting fresh produce and getting a produce bar up and running, and that also has an educational component with it. Come the spring, we hope to plant some gardens and have the kids work with them, and that should be really fun.


How long have you been an MSNA member?

I’ve been a member for more than 20 years, and everyone in our district is a member. That’s something I promote. The training, camaraderie and the sharing of ideas—it’s a good opportunity for them and for me. It’s in their contract now that they have to be certified at the SNA “Healthy Edge” Level 1 within three years of employment. When you’re a member, you can be certified much lesser cost.


In your experience, what’s been the greatest changes to the industry?

I would say diversity, diversity in menus—and that rolls into the budget and food costs. I think it’s funny how we’ve gone from making things from scratch and fresh ingredients to all frozen (food), and now we’re going back the other way again. I don’t know if it’s coming back full circle, but I think food costs are our biggest challenge right now. But at least the cost of gas has gone down, and that helps a little bit.

—Mike Mitchelson.