Private vendors, on the other hand, offer about 20 alternatives daily. Woonsocket High School students, for instance, can now choose from five meats, several cheeses, and two kinds of bread in the deli line. They can also pick from a list of three or four hot sandwiches, two salads, and a pasta dish. In addition, the menu offers pizza and burritos. Even if the student tires of these regular items, several specials are offered each day.
Students also choose from a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables at every meal.
And parents are sent a monthly menu describing each day's choices and their nutritional value. The name-brand packaging and advertising raise the likelihood that students will actually like the meal. Private vendors recognize that student involvement is vital to customer satisfaction. In Woonsocket and Providence, groups of students and parents meet monthly with Marriott's food-service directors. Sandra Caron, a senior at Woonsocket High School who is a vegetarian, says that these meetings have allowed her to buy her lunch at school for the first time.