Community Dining Program

The Community Dining Program provides all K-12 SDJA students with a high-quality, daily all-you-care-to-eat community-inclusive lunch program. This program is part of our broader commitment to wellness and healthy living throughout your child’s school experience.

SDJA partners with SAGE, the leading food service provider for independent schools and private colleges throughout North America. SAGE focuses on quality service, community, nutrition, education, sustainability, and delicious food. Within their portfolio of expertise, SAGE has experience in effectively meeting the dining needs of Jewish schools such as ours.

You can view the menu on the Touch of SAGE® Mobile App and website to see what food will be available each week. Your child will then be able to choose their food each day at lunchtime in the designated serving areas.

SAGE has expertise in food allergy management, featuring strict food-prep practices, daily offerings clearly and prominently labeled with any of the 12 main allergens, and a specially designed app with allergen-identifying filters to facilitate safe meal planning.

The cost of the dining program is included as part of K-12 tuition.

The freshly made kosher menu includes a nourishing main dish with various starches and fresh vegetables as sides; salad, deli, and soup options; creative, food truck-style fare; authentic Latin and Asian dishes; and expanded vegetarian options.

You can also provide feedback directly through the Sage Dining app, which is reviewed weekly to improve the menu continuously.

The same menu is  offered at Moadon and Lion’s Cafe service points daily so everyone has the same menu offerings.

• Central Office/ECC/GMLS 11:30-1:00 at Moadon
• MUS Employees 11:30-1:00 at Lion’s Cafe

While students may bring certain food items that they enjoy onto campus, we like all students to participate in the community dining program.

Sage Dining has a strong reputation and track record for providing healthy, delicious meals with various options. As a holistic program, our community dining incorporates wellness and nutrition education from which all students will benefit. Also, there are several feedback mechanisms to support menus that appeal to a wide range of students. If your child chooses to bring their own lunch, it must be dairy only (no meat) and nut free.

SDJA may, at some point, add some form of snack and/or breakfast program for an additional cost.

The Spotlight Program, provided by Sage Dining, provides nutrition education on fueling your body and fostering a positive relationship with food.

Each menu item is assigned a color that indicates its nutrient density. To assign a Spotlight color, we use a formula to calculate nutrient density based on the latest USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

What is nutrient density?

• Nutrient density is the proportion of nutrients that are recommended we eat more often to those that are recommended we eat less often.
• Foods higher in nutrient density contain more of the nutrition our bodies need to function.

Dark Green: represents food higher in nutrient density and should make up half your plate.

Medium Green: represents food moderate in nutrient density and should make up 1/3 of your plate.

Light Green: represents food lower in nutrient density and should make up 1/4 of your plate.

Look for the color-coded Spotlights on the online menu, Touch of SAGE mobile app, and signs in the dining hall. Choose foods with your kids to enjoy, using this as a guide to build your plate.