Summer Lunch Program Menu Ideas

If your school is open for summer school or still offers a meal program for kids when school isn’t in session, you may be struggling to create a healthy meal that kids will love. It’s important to consider a few things when building out your meal plan for the season. That way, kids can get a healthy school lunch that’s also easy to prepare in mass. Parts Town is here to share  some key tips for making your menu as well as some summer lunch program menu ideas to try. 

Tips for Creating a Summer Lunch Program Menu

You should keep a few things in mind when coming up with your menu so it’s both healthy and enjoyable for kids. Here as some tips to follow:

• Low-fat foods – Choosing lower-fat foods can ensure kids are getting something healthier. Instead of serving fat, heavy dairy products, you can try offering alternatives like low-fat or fat-free milk.

• Color variety – You can brighten up the meal and make it more appealing to the students by offering a variety of different colored foods. If you offer breakfast, you can serve  oatmeal with bright-colored fruits.

• Whole grains – Instead of white bread and regular pasta, try substitutes like whole grain pasta or whole wheat bread. Whole grains can help lower  cholesterol and  be a great, healthy option for kids.

• Limit sodium – When looking for snacks, side options or proteins, try to find something lower in sodium. While chips may seem like an easy snack that kids will love, they can be high in sodium and far less healthy. 

• Incorporate 3-4 key groups – When planning summer lunch program menu ideas, it should have 3 main food groups for breakfast and 4 for lunch. When serving breakfast, include milk, a vegetable or fruit, and a grain or bread. As for lunch, include all three of those and a meat or meat alternative. This helps give them a well-rounded meal.

• Unsweetened foods – Sweetened foods are full of sugar which are unhealthy and cause kids to crash in the afternoon when they still need to focus. Try offering unsweetened foods instead to avoid this. 

• Consider the age group – When it comes to age groups 1-6, 7-11 and 12-18, they have different needs, especially with portions. Try to keep that in mind when creating menus. An elementary school menu will probably be different from that of a middle school or high school. The USDA has meal pattern recommendations to follow for portioning everything from breakfast, lunch and snack. 

Summer Lunch Program Menu Ideas

With all of our tips in mind, we’re ready to create the perfect menu. Here are some great options  that kids will love, are healthy and can be easy to create and store in mass.

Milk Options

For milk, you have a few key options to choose from. You can use fat-free or low-fat milk, as well as some dairy-free choices like soy and almond milk.

Fruit and Vegetable Options

For sides, you’ll want to consider fruits or vegetables. You’ll also want options that can easily be kept in a refrigerator or a heated holding space. Here are ones kids will love that can also add a pop of color to the meal.

• Orange slices


• Banana


• Apple


• Fresh berries


• Plum or peach


• Fruit salads


• Carrot or celery sticks with dip


• Mashed potatoes


• Side vegetable salad


• Side Caesar salad 

Meat or Meat Alternative Options

The main component of the lunch is your meat or meat alternative. A lot of time, your grain option will be included with this if your meal is served on bread. In the situation where it isn’t, try offering a whole-grain roll with it. With these options, you want ones that can easily be cooked in large batches with your cooking equipment, as well as be kept warm either in a holding cabinet, heated food well or under heat lamps. This can include things like: 

• Sloppy joes on whole grain buns


• Vegetable chili


• Meat and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread


• Cheese or pepperoni pizza on whole grain crust


• Bean or turkey burrito on whole grain tortillas


• Hot dog or hamburger on whole grain buns


• Chicken tenders or nuggets


• Chicken or bean-walking tacos


• Quesadilla on whole grain tortilla


• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole-grain bread


• Meat and cheese wraps on whole grain tortilla