Taco Bell cut from schools

MAT-SU -- After an announcement from the company five years ago stating that Taco Bell would be phasing out of school lunch programs, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District has lost the quasi-vendor's business. Taco Bell started being served in Valley middle and high schools after the school board decided to close campuses during lunch period 10 years ago.

"The students wanted something like what they could get if they could leave the school," said nutrition services supervisor Linda Stoll. "But Taco Bell has made a corporate decision to quit [providing food] in schools."

Stoll and the rest of the nutrition services staff had known that the corporation was eventually going to phase out of the school district, but found out mid-summer it would not be available this school year. Due to late knowledge of the program's end at Mat-Su, the staff was unable to bring in a substitute before school began. As the first month of school is coming to an end, however, Stoll said October will mark the beginning of a Taco Bell replacement program.

"It's called 'South of the Border Express,'" Stoll said. "We found the companies that produce things like the meat and beans for Taco Bell, and ordered the food from them … It will practically be identical to what we had with Taco Bell."

Rumors that the food provided by the district this year has been of poorer quality than in years past have been floating around the Valley; Stoll said she believes these rumors may have originated because of the student's disappointment in Taco Bell's pullout.

"Our products are identical from year to year," Stoll said. "I've worked here 20 years and the pizza hasn't changed. The complaints I've heard about are all about Taco Bell."

One change that has occurred, however, is the switch from Matanuska Maid milk to Wilcox Dairy. The district, teamed with the Anchorage School District to save money, collects bids on the milk served to the students each year. For many years, Mat Maid has beat out the competition, but this year Peterkin Distributors, out of Kenai, won the bid for the district's milk, and provides Wilcox to both districts.

"I've not had any complaints about that," Stoll said. "We have both chocolate and white milk available this month."

Strawberry milk will be made available to students after the first of October.