Cafeteria Circus: Where Nutrition Take Center Stage
November 01, 2026
Cafeteria Circus: Where Nutrition Takes Center Stage
By Mieke van der Walt
Step right up students, it’s time to enjoy some fun and festive food! During the week of October 12-16, 2026, Burwell Public Schools celebrated National School Lunch Week! The ordinary cafeteria was transformed into a colorful and vibrant circus by the school lunch
staff of Lily Stephen, Dawn Krause, Nadine Augustyn, and Bonnie Miler. Daily menu items and fun decorations were also added to go with the theme “Cafeteria Circus: Where Nutrition Takes Center Stage”.
Not only did the staff make the cafeteria any ringmaster's dream, but they also used their creativity to great use and came up with a playful menu for the week. What used to be an average meal got an exciting transformation. On Monday, “The Big Top Chicken Spectacular” consisted of chicken strips and French fries. “The Greatest Taco Show on Earth” took place Tuesday which was made from local beef with Spanish rice on the side. A fan favorite on Wednesday was “The Amazing Alfredo Act”. The fabulous week ended with “The Ringmaster’s Grand Finale!” of orange chicken and fried rice which had students sprinting to the cafeteria.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week to show the importance of a healthy school lunch and the fact that nearly thirty million US students eat school lunch every day. This event takes place every full week in October and it recognizes the National School Lunch Program. Lily Stephen is the head of the lunch committee at the school and she found out about National School Lunch Week at the Nebraska School Nutrition Association Conference she attended in Kearney this past summer. Lily also mentioned that lunch staff members were all-hands-on-deck with the decoration of the cafeteria.
Students of all ages were truly surprised to walk into the cafeteria on Monday morning to see how much effort was put into decorating. “The response of students was very positive. Students said that they loved the decorations and the meals that we prepared! We are thankful to have such great students that always compliment the meals we make. At the end of the day, it's rewarding to promote healthy eating and the importance of a healthy school lunch program,” added Stephen.
