There is no free lunch.

When Ali and I were planning our wedding, we had a lot of things on our mind: which rabbi was going to perform the ceremony, where would the wedding be, who would do what parts? The list went on and on. Our biggest concern, though, was about the food. Years prior at a family wedding, Ali’s extended family had left hungry and had needed to go out to a restaurant before heading back to the hotel for the night. This wedding had taken place when Ali was a kid and the entire family was still talking about it. Needless to say, we didn’t want our wedding to provide similar grounds for kvetching and spent a lot of time working with the caterer to get it just right. Thankfully, everyone left satisfied and happy with the food (and with our simcha) and Ali’s family is still talking about that long ago wedding (and not the food at ours).

There are so many ways that we are proud of Gross Schechter - we have great teachers, wonderful students and a building filled with incredible learning experiences. One thing that we can all agree on that needs our attention is our school lunch. Some of us have concerns about the quantity of food available. Others have expressed concerns about the choices that students have, while others want to ensure that we are teaching our kids how to make healthy choices. And some of us want to hear about what our kids learned in school today when we pick them up (and not hear about lunch).

I am pleased to announce the formation of a Lunch Task Force whose mission is to make recommendations on what a high quality kosher school lunch program will look like. We have asked Gross Schechter parent and restaurateur Seth Bromberg to chair the task force and he has recruited a team of parents and professionals to join him and Dr. Heidi Geis, our Director of Wellness. This committee is tasked with making recommendations by March so that we can plan next year's lunch program.

We need your input. Please follow this link to a school lunch survey. Share with us your thoughts, concerns, and ideas.

We will also be asking for the opinions of our students. After all, they are the ones eating lunch. We will be meeting with students and providing activities to help them understand what goes into creating a healthy meal over the coming months.

You will be hearing updates from us as the Task Force begins its work through updates placed in the Shavuon.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares
Head of School