District Administrators Corner

by Loren Glasbrenner,  River Valley School District Administrator  Hot dogs are an American tradition. According to a recent survey obtained by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans purchase 350 million pounds of hot dogs—that’s 9 billion franks! However, the actual number of hot dogs consumed by Americans is probably much larger. It is difficult to calculate the number of hot dogs Americans may eat at softball games, family reunions, or local carnivals. The estimates state that Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs a year—more than twice the retail sales figures. That works out to about 70 hot dogs per person each year. Hot dogs are served in 95 percent of homes in the United States. And, they happen to be a quick and easy meal for kids (hot-dog.org).  But there really is an art to making sure your hotdog is cooked the way you like it. Just imagine...being 10 years old and being given the responsibility to grab a quick lunch after coming home from summer school, prior to heading off to a friend’s house or to the pool... (In the River Valley School District, this is a simple process. Our district delivers FREE MEALS all summer to any family. And one of the things that is packed is a hot dog. The National School Lunch Program and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) have extended breakfast and lunch offerings through next year and it is for all students. It is not based on a family’s income. No matter a family’s income, we have volunteers that will drop off five days worth of food and a gallon of milk for households with children age birth - 18 years of age. Currently, our summer nutrition team, Cindy, Sherry, Elaine, Holly, and Sue, prepare approximately 800 meals weekly for the River Valley School District families. We are thankful for their dedication to our families. And, they are more than happy to create more if needed - please reach out to your school if you are interested. We also have a host of volunteers that drive these meals to addresses and drop them for the family’s convenience. We do not want our kids hungry! As I was researching with the team, I could smell the cheeseburger casserole that was being prepped for delivery--it smelled great! These meals are prepared with the intent to be easily warmed or prepared if a 10 year old is making their own lunch... like a hot dog.) There are many ways to cook a hotdog: stove top seared in a pan, stove top boiled in water, heated on a grill, heated in an oven, cooked in an air fryer, held over a campfire, and thrown in a microwave. The safest method for a student is probably the use of a microwave; but again, there are better ways than just tossing on a plate and pushing buttons. And, an over-cooked hot dog is not a pretty sight. According to huffpost.com, the secret is to wrap the hot dog in a paper towel or napkin prior to placing it in a microwave and then cook for less than a minute. Again, don’t overdo it. The National School Lunch Program is a federally-assisted meal program operating in more than 94,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions. It was established under the National School Lunch Act and signed by President Harry Truman in 1946 and provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 30 million children each school day (dpi.wi.gov). As a district, we hope to assist families utilizing programs, such as this, to support learning and development for all students. Again, if you know of a family that could utilize our summer meal programs, do not hesitate to reach out. Our food service director, Cindy Eby (ceby@rvschools.org) is here to help.