Healthy bodies and healthy minds go hand in hand, and we're as concerned about your child's nutrition as you are.  You can rest assured that we're doing everything possible to help your child make good food choices.

This year’s (2012-2013) lunch prices will be $2.50 for Elementary lunches and Jr. – Sr. High lunches.

Packets were sent out to parents early this year regarding lunch prices and other information about our cafeteria. If you did not receive a letter, please see the following .pdf document that details everything. - 2012-2013 Cafeteria Information

We continue to accept cash, checks or debit cards for payment to accounts.  Normal payment hours are 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. 

Please don’t ever hesitate to bring your questions or concerns to the MUSD cafeteria manager, Diana Sumpter.  You can reach me her at the cafeteria from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Cafeteria Phone: (928) 865-7219
Email: Diana Sumpter at dsumpter@morenci.k12.az.us

November, 29th 2012

The Brain-Food Connection by School Nutrition Magazine

November, 14th 2012

I have never heard of an AN marker – so I’ll bet there are other parents who haven’t either. In these days when kids are developing diabetes at an early age, we need to know what to look for – and this is a great indicator that doesn’t cost anything or hurt to do!

"An AN marker is a warning signal to check for type 2 diabetes," said pediatrician Dr. Pamela Murray, chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at WVU Medical Center. West Virginia is facing a diabetes epidemic that threatens to swamp the state health-care system, Murray said. One in 3 Americans will be diabetic by 2050 if preventative measures are not taken, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts. "If we can catch it now in children, we absolutely should," Murray said.

Thousands of West Virginia children — 1 in 20 — have the diabetes-linked marker, according to the CARDIAC project, which screens statewide.
"The fancy name is acanthosis nigricans," Murray said. It translates "dark area." "Lots of times, it looks like a smudge or dirt," she said. "It used to be only adults, but now, as kids get type 2 diabetes too, it turns up on children too." In the past 11 years, CARDIAC screeners have checked 78,751 West Virginia fifth-graders' necks. On average, 5.2 percent had a marker. That's 762 children in the fifth grade alone.

When insulin behaves abnormally in the body, AN markers may appear as brown-to-black velvety areas encircling the back of the neck, under the arms or in the crook of the elbow or knee, Murray said. "The bad thing is, many parents don't know what it is," she said. Many teachers don't recognize it either, said Kelli Caseman, director of the West Virginia School-Based Health Assembly. Teachers sometimes refer children to the health center for hygiene issues, she said, "only to find that the dirt on the back of students' necks was AN."

"It's usually easier to identify on darker-skinned individuals, but in West Virginia, it's frequent and more visible on white children," Murray said. Nationwide, black children develop AN — and diabetes — at a higher rate than white children do.
AN markers often fade away if people bring their blood sugar into normal range, she said.

Murray emphasizes that:
—The marker is not a diagnosis of diabetes. It is a red flag for pre-diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association and American Academy of Pediatrics.
—All pre-diabetic people do not develop a marker. One in 5 children do, according to CARDIAC figures, usually those most at risk. If 762 fifth-graders have markers, five times that number could be pre-diabetic.
—Most people who develop the darkened patches are overweight, another diabetes risk factor.

August, 29th 2012

I know that several parents are curious about the changes cafeterias have to make and the article below addresses some of it. It also opens up fields for discussion with your children, should you choose to do so. Tips for Healthy Eating at School