‘Meatless Mondays’ get cut from high school menus

They called it “Meatless Mondays.” But the all-vegetarian lunch menu offered once a week at Oxnard Union High School District campuses since 2015 was never a big hit with students, officials said.“Vegetarian Day was the lowest participation day” among students eating in OUSHD cafeterias, Stephanie Gillenberg, nutrition services director, told school board members at a recent meeting.Now, “Meatless Mondays,” which this past school year was offered on Fridays, is out.School board members decided June 26 to eliminate the no-meat menu for the next school year as part of cost-saving measures aimed at reining in OUHSD’s more than $4-million annual nutrition services budget.The changes are designed to increase the number of students who buy lunch at school and close a $2-million deficit in the nutrition budget.“We have room for more kids to start eating in our cafeterias,” said Jeff Baarstad, an operations consultant for the district.