Final presentation of my Community Connections Project.

1. Community
Connections Project
My quest to learn more about the food in and around Toki
Middle School and Meadowood Neighborhood
Courtney Moser

2. FOOD IN THE
SCHOOL
I first wanted to learn more
about the food that the
students at Toki Middle
School eat. What do they eat
and what programs are in
place surrounding school
Akira Toki
provided food?

3. Breakfast & Lunch menu
*There is a wide
variety of food
available to students
for lunch. The
school also provides
breakfast for the
students. I am
curious about the
regulations around
what they can serve,
the nutrition of this
food, and how much
it costs. This
impacts parents and
students and math is
involved in
determining these
answers.

4. The MMSD Food Program
“The MMSD Eatery believes that Good Nutrition is a Key to
Learning”
In general, parents and the community want the children in their
school to be learning and thriving. One key component of this is
making sure that students are receiving nutritious meals. How
nutritious are the meals the students are eating and what does it cost
parents and the community? This cost is mathematically calculated.
“All of our menus in the USDA program are designed to meet
USDA nutritional standards...Meeting these targets ensures that our
meals provide students with one third of their dietary requirements for
lunch and one fourth for breakfast.”

5. Lunches of my students:

6. USDA Standards
Each meal must be
analyzed to ensure it
meets these
requirements.
I noticed that sodium, cholesterol, etc.
consumption is not accounted for in the
standards. When I looked up the
nutritional information of the food, I
noticed that the school food did not have
healthy levels of sodium or cholesterol.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/nutritionstandards.htm

7. How nutritious are the meals?
The recommended total daily intake for sodium is 1500 mg. The chicken potato
gravy bowl has 2248.95 mg of sodium alone! That is 748.95mg more than the
recommended daily allowance of sodium.
http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssodium/

8. Opinions on school lunch
FROM A STUDENT
“The pizza is too greasy. When you peel the plastic wrapper off (the pizza comes in a plastic
bag), the cheese comes off with it.”
“The lunch here at the middle school is healthier than the elementary school, though. My
brother and sister say the french fries there are soggy and greasy.”
“We have half an hour for lunch. 15 minutes for eating and 15 minutes for recess.”
“In elementary school, we had fresh fruits and veggies for snack and I really liked that.”
FROM MY CT
“If kids are supposed to be getting the bulk of their nutrition at school, these kids are not
getting it.”
“This food is ‘slop.’ It is absolutely horrifying. Everything is prepackaged.”
“The food doesn’t satiate them. I always hear kids saying they are still hungry.”

9. Are they really “nutritious?”
So... this is interesting. According to the
USDA standards, the meals are nutritious.
However, the students don’t find them
particularly appetizing and my CT doesn’t
think the meals are nutritious at all. Why has
the school chosen to go with mostly
prepackaged meals? My guess is cost. The
school must calculate the cost of serving the
food and find ways to still make it affordable
for the school.

10. What is the cost of the meals?
USDA BREAKFAST
Reduced & Free....no charge
Middle School Full Pay....$1.50
USDA LUNCH
Reduced.....$0.40
Middle School Full Pay....$2.90
https://foodsvcweb.madison.k12.wi.us/mealpayplus

11. Free and Reduced Lunch
If families are underneath these cutoffs in terms of income, they may be eligible for free
and reduced lunch. They must fill out a form requiring them to calculate the income of
each person in the household. So, math must be used in order to apply for the free and
reduced lunch program.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/notices/iegs/iegs.htm

12. The school actually loses money
for each meal it serves. To offset
this cost, schools provide other
food items a la carte that students
can pay extra for. This food is
often unhealthy foods, so that
students will want to buy them. It
makes sense, then, that schools
would want to use food that is
cheap in order to minimize the net
loss.
These revenues come from parent payments and
USDA & DPI reimbursement for lunches that
are provided at that free and reduced costs.
foodsvcweb.madison.k12.wi.us
Financials Fact Sheet
Net loss of $.09 (2.89-2.80) Net loss of $.09 (1.70-1.79)

13. The community cares!
The Madison community cares about the food their children are
eating.
One group, among many, has formed called “Madison Families For
Better Nutrition” with the slogan “Dump the Junk. Feed the Brain.”
On their website, they proclaim: “We, the undersigned, believe the
Madison Metropolitan School District must provide food choices
to students that underscore good nutrition, utilizing fresh fruits
and vegetables and whole grains. The Madison Metropolitan
School District will close the achievement gap by providing the
building blocks for a healthy mind and body. In short, we
demand good food for great kids.”
There is a relationship between achievement and nutrition!
http://dumpthejunknow.wordpress.com/category/letters/

14. How many students at Toki qualify for
free and reduced lunch?
In 2011-12, 48.9% of students were
classified as economically
disadvantaged and 51.1% were
classified as not economically
disadvantaged
From this graph, you can
see the number of students
who are classified as
economically
disadvantaged at Toki
has been increasing over
the past ten years.
a.dpi.state.wi.us/data/GroupEnroll.aspx?GraphFile=GROUPS&SCounty=47&SAthleticConf=45&SCESA=05&FULLKEY=023269040620&SN=Toki+Mid&DN=Madison+Metropolitan&OrgLevel=sc&Qquad=demographics.asp

15. The way that the percentages of students who
are and are not economically disadvantaged
are determined is by looking at the percentages
of students who get free and reduced meals.
So, 48.9% of students at Toki received free
and reduced lunch prices. This means that the
community around Toki is composed of many
families who benefit from this program. Many
of these families rely on the school to be
providing nutritious and filling food for their
children.

16. FOOD IN
MEADOWOOD
What food is available in the
neighborhood where Toki is
located?

17. Restaurants

18. Restaurants
What I noticed when looking at this map is that there
are barely any restaurants within Meadowood or even
slightly beyond.
One of my students said there are not really any grocery
stores or restaurants around the school in the
community. There is only Walgreens and Copps. He
thinks there should be more restaurants and grocery
stores. He says there used to be a pizza place nearby,
but it is gone now. He thinks it turned into a barber
shop.

19. Fruit Trees

20. “Meadowood neighborhood’s popular
fruit trees on city’s chopping block”
“The city of Madison intends to remove or transplant six fruit trees resident Mark Bauman
planted in the terrace of his Lynndale Road home in the Meadowood Neighborhood because
they violate an ordinance that prohibits such trees in the city right of way. About 400 people
have signed a petition to allow the trees to remain.”
Article published October 25, 2012, so this is a very recent issue in the community
In the article, it says that the trees have become a part of the Meadowood neighborhood,
which “the city recently has declared a ‘food desert’ for lack of easy access to fresh, healthy
groceries.”
“The Baumans, who have three more fruit trees on their property, would like to keep those on
the terrace to continue to provide fresh fruit for their family, neighbors and local children.”ree
To me, it seems like the community wants to have fresh fruits available for adults and children
alike, but it isn’t readily available and removing the trees would remove one of the few
resources they do have.
Read more here: http://host.madison.com/news/local/meadowood-neighborhood-s-popular-
fruit-trees-on-city-s-chopping/article_870467cc-1e34-11e2-845c-0019bb2963f4.html

21. Summary of Findings
Q1: What did I learn about the community,
mathematics, and how mathematics is used by
the people in the community?
Q2: How is what I learned relevant to my
students?
Q3: Why does the particular community where
I did my quest matter? How might the
information I learned be different if I had
done my quest in another place or context?

22. What did I learn about the community,
mathematics, and how mathematics is used
by the people in the community?
Food is an important part of the community and school, even if it there isn’t an abundance of
it or if it isn’t always the healthiest food.
Some people in the community are lobbying to change the food that is served at school because
they believe it is not as healthy as it should be.
The cost of food plays a factor in which food is available. The school must calculate which
foods they are able to serve in order to minimize the difference between cost and revenue.
Almost half of students receive free and reduced lunch. The families must use math to
complete the applications. Families also make calculated choices each and every day as to
where they will spend their money - rent, electricity, food. The school plays a role in this by
provided meals at free and reduced prices.
Mathematics can be used to help people (ex: providing free and reduced lunch based on income
levels) but also at times does not serve people’s best interests (ex: cost of school meals vs.
nutrition of school meals.)

23. How is what I learned relevant to my students?
Students have opinions on the food they are served and notice the
availability of food to them.
It could be interesting to do a project with students where they
analyze the school lunches, calculate the costs, and share their
opinions on whether or not they like the food, think it is healthy,
and if they believe it is shaping their eating habits.
Many of my students receive free and reduced lunch.
Our students potentially hear their parents conversations about money
and the choices they must make
The fruit trees are in their neighborhood. They might have eaten from
fruit from those trees or have an opinion on whether or not they should
be removed or located

24. Why does the particular community where I did my quest
matter? How might the information I learned be different
if I had done my quest in another place or context?
Different communities have different demographics.
The amount of students who receive free and reduced lunch would be
much different. Even between different schools in Madison, it can vary
greatly.
The type and quantity of available food differs between places. From
the map, I could see that there is an abundance of food in other parts
of Madison, while there is not much in the nearby community of Toki.
Different school districts handle their school meal programs differently
and serve different foods. Even compared to my middle school which is
20 minutes from Toki, the food was different.