High School Cafeteria Transformed Into Food Court

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) - Students are flocking to eat school lunches just two weeks after Woodson High remodeled its cafeteria to imitate a mall food court.

The pilot project in the Northeast high school is aimed to improve the District's food services and enhance student performance. It was started shortly after David Goodman was hired as the District of Columbia Public Schools' new executive director of Food Services in early September.

"We want to take a food services that was completely broken to nothing - down to the very bottom and bring it back to life," he said.

Goodman came into the system at a time when the Office of Food and Nutrition Services was suffering an $11 million deficit. He said the new cafeteria at Woodson has already increased the school's cash revenue. By the end of the year, food sales are expected to bring in an additional $170,000.

"Now the kids are eating five times as much as they did before," said Goodman, who estimates the new lunches attract an additional 600 students every day.

"What I'm liking about the whole ordeal is the expression I see on the kids face when they come in," said Paula Newkirk, a food service worker. "It's like a Christmas tree and I figure my job has been done."

The new cafeteria line is designed to feature many stations including sandwich wraps, buffalo wings, cheeseburgers, strombolis, Chicago-style pizza, salads and Asian dishes. Goodman brought in chefs to teach the food service workers how to cook all the food. So far, many have noticed their skill level has advanced.

""It's definitely upgraded my level of expertise in the kitchen. Now we are decorating the food with a lot of color and better presentation," said Tyrone Harris, a food service employee who describes the new lunch lines as a "mob."

On Friday, there were no classes at all public schools. So Goodman invited all of the district's food service employees to taste Woodson's lunches. They lined up like the students do and piled the dishes onto their trays. "This is what a cafeteria should look like. This is how food should be presented...in it's own container, pick and choose," said Deborah Murphy, a food service worker at Francis Junior High School.

Although some critics doubt whether the french fries, chicken nuggets and other similar items are healthy, Goodman defends the meals.

"We have all different types of foods. Most of our main meals fit the dietary guidelines for Americans. Do we sell cookies? Yes. Do we have pizza? Yes. But we all eat those things. It's our job to teach them to do it in moderation and to make different choices," he said. "We have everything they would find out in the real world so it's our job to teach them about their choices. This is really like another classroom."