Triad leaders learn about ‘swicy,’ other Generation Alpha food trends
By Charles Bolinger
Editor
Do you enjoy ‘swicy’ foods? The combination of sweet and spicy, in Generation Alpha parlance, is one of the trends that emerged from a meeting between Aramark and Triad School officials. Generation Alpha are usually acknowledged as those born between 2010 and 2024, following Generation Z.
Two days before Halloween, Triad’s Superintendent, Dr. Jason Henderson, and Amy Van Hoose, the district’s director of curriculum, met with Heidi Hodges, Aramark’s district manager, and Ruth Cunningham, the company’s food service director, to review the ongoing implementation of the district’s food service program.
Besides swicy foods, other Gen Alpha trends include interest in global cuisine; learning to cook or bake and other culinary skills; eating fresh fruit and vegetables; nutrition information and interest in functional foods.
Trending in the K-12 audience is a growing demand for foods that are halal, kosher, vegan and allergy-free along with balanced, healthy choices.
Children aged 15 and under represent the largest segment of the K-12 market and online food trends influence them greatly.
What this means for challenges as food service operators translate to managing waste, controlling costs and developing new menu ideas.
Last year, the United States Department of Agriculture announced new standards for school meals, starting with the current academic year. They include: reduced sugar in breakfast cereals, yogurt and flavored milk toward a weekly limit of <10% calories from sugar.
Reduced sodium is another goal. Dropping 10% from breakfasts and 15% from lunches are the targets. At least 80% whole grains should be offered per week; and finally, only 10% of food purchased should be from non-domestic sources.
Aramark officials shared a detailed newsletter outlining program goals, sales data and current initiatives. They also provided photos from the teachers’ institute breakfast, Apple Pie Day with Silver Creek’s pre-K students and a recent community outreach event featuring one of their team members.
Aramark highlighted several of their monthly limited time offers (LTOs) designed to keep students eating lunch and to mitigate ‘menu fatigue.’ Items available include Spicy Chicken and Street Corn Mac and Cheese; Cheeseburger Nachos with Pickle Queso; Sausage and Cheesy Potato Soup; Sweet Heat Chorizo Empanada; Gochujang Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich; Buffalo Bacon Cheddar Waffalaco; Jalapeño Popper Burger; and Bruschetta Chicken Focaccia.
One LTO item was a standout—the fajita chicken flatbread—and was so well received at the secondary level that Aramark plans to bring it back and add it to the regular menu rotation.
The most significant update is that meal participation continues to grow. By the end of September, Aramark had served 6,160 more meals compared to the same point last year.
Besides keeping students who have food allergies safe, Aramark plans to keep Triad informed about allergen safety precautions, use fully customizable, step-by-step checklists for daily openings and sharable resources available to school nurses, administrators and board members.
