Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Nutrition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District nutrition staff report progress on scratch cooking, grants and self-serve produce stations
Summary
Student nutrition leaders described a multi-year shift toward scratch cooking, staff certifications, new grants and equipment to expand fresh food offerings, including an 18-station, districtwide self-serve fruit-and-vegetable rollout funded by Whole Kids/Whole Foods.
Yuma Union High School District nutrition leaders told the governing board they have accelerated a multi-year shift to scratch cooking after receiving a Chef Ann Foundation grant and additional funding from local and national partners.
Elena Hildred, the district’s executive director for student nutrition services, said the district received a $66,500 grant from the Sprouts Healthy Community Foundation in September to support student activities and gardening programs and that the Whole Kids/Whole Foods grant will provide 18 self-serve fresh fruit-and-vegetable stations for district schools.
“Scratch cooking is not just flipping a switch,” Hildred said. She described multiple staff training efforts, including an on-site culinary training by the Institute of Child Nutrition and sessions led by Chef Ann Foundation staff. The district reported it has produced at least 14 scratch-recipes so far and said four are scheduled to appear on November menus.
Hildred described operational changes adopted to meet state guidance and reduce processed ingredients, saying the district reviewed its ingredients to align with the Arizona Healthy Schools Act and eliminated juice at breakfast. The department also moved from precooked to fresh ground beef for menu items such as spaghetti sauce and chili and began producing made-from-scratch ranch dressing and fresh pizza.
The Whole Kids equipment shipment was reported as in transit; district staff said the 18 self-serve stations would allow roughly three stations per school and should arrive before December for a second-semester districtwide rollout. Hildred said a Chef Ann Foundation representative will visit campuses to assess equipment needs and advise on assistance grants for additional items.
Board members and staff noted the program’s emphasis on staff certification and professional development: management team members have completed manager certification in sanitation and the district is pursuing Level 2 certification from the School Nutrition Association, which includes additional continuing-education hours. Hildred said on Sept. 22 the department hosted about 80 cooks in site-based sessions where everyone had hands-on time at stoves and produced new recipes.
The board did not take action on the report; staff said funding and equipment details and timelines will be included in future procurement and implementation reports.
