If mystery meat and soggy tater tots were school lunch staples when you were a child, you didn’t attend the Unquowa School in Fairfield, Conn. The Unquowa School places a strong emphasis on nutrition and delicious cuisine. That might not be typical for a school, but Unquowa is anything but typical.

The Unquowa School
Case Study

The school, founded in 1917, is the oldest continuous nonprofit coed independent school in Connecticut. More than 40 faculty and staff support the school’s 170 pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students.

Unquowa strives to serve nourishing, delicious and sustainably grown food, thus empowering students to make choices that have a positive influence on their personal health, family, com-munity and the surrounding environment. Additionally, the school teaches children about sustainable food choices through an integrated curriculum that links the kitchen and dining room with the classroom.

Two years ago, the school purchased a Hobart 40-quart D-340 floor mixer to further its foodservice goals, which aside from quality was providing nut-free products.

“The school established a nut-free menu several years ago to address a student’s allergy and we never discontinued it,” says Peter Gorman, the school’s chef.

The variety of menu options produced by the school, which were previously purchased, has increased greatly. These items include pizza dough, focaccia bread, baguettes, rye, whole grain and unbleached white breads. Today, no prepared food products are purchased from outside resources. It’s all made in-house.

Saving $6,500 by Making Products In-House

By making its own products instead of purchasing from large distributors, the school has saved more than $6,500—3 percent of its total food budget. Food savings include pizza dough ($1,800), French bread ($1,500), focaccia bread ($2,000) and pullman bread ($1,100).

The savings are directed back into the foodservice program. Gorman says the money saved is used to purchase higher-quality foods. The school already purchases high-quality beef and chicken from a local farm. Recent cost saving has enabled him to begin purchasing higher-quality deli meat.

Gorman has already earmarked future cost saving for an organic salad bar.

The results aren’t just financial. The mixer also saves Gorman time. Prior to the mixer, all mixing was done by hand, and when dealing with meat loaf, cake mixes, lasagna, brownie batter and cookie dough, that time adds up.

“The Hobart mixer has turned my 80-hour weeks into 50-hour weeks,” he says.

It also affords Gorman more time to devote to other tasks besides mixing.

“For me personally, the mixer means more freedom to be able to execute the foodservice program correctly,” he explains. “Without it, our kitchen staff, including me, wouldn’t be at the level we are right now. Having the mixer allows us to execute the school’s overall foodservice goals, providing nutritional products to enrich students’ lives.”

It also means more students are getting involved in the foodservice program. They are more engaged in the way meals are prepared, and a few students can even be found in the kitchen weighing and rolling dough into French bread before classes begin.

Producing New Revenue Streams

Gorman also uses the mixer to produce Gator Granola, a nutritious and delicious mix of organic oats, honey and maple syrup the school sells during fundraising events.

“Gator Granola was supported as an eighth-grade fundraising program to raise money for their [the students’] annual trip, but now it’s taken on a life of its own,” says Gorman. “We used to sell it only at school events, but now we’ve expanded to a local farm. Depending on the reception, we might consider marketing it externally.”

The Hobart mixer is also a conversation piece during parent tours.

“The kitchen is one of the stops on the tour, and the parents can’t help but notice the mixer. It’s usually in use or covered in flour,” says Gorman. “It really reinforces our mission when prospective students and their parents see fresh dough rising on the counter.”

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