Austin ISD food truck serves specialty burritos, sides at Crockett High School

Austin Independent School District executive chef Diane Grodek said the district brought its food truck to Crockett High School this spring to offer two specialty burritos and sides to high school students.

Grodek said the truck is “making the rounds this spring to all the high schools in the district,” and that the menu includes two burritos developed for the truck — one meat and one vegetarian — plus sides such as honeydew melon with lime zest and Tajín and a corn-and-bean salad.

The Verde burrito, Grodek said, includes fajita chicken, grilled peppers and onions, pepper jack cheese and bacon and is served with salsas and guacamole. “It's a beast,” Grodek said of the truck, adding that the mobile setup allows the nutrition team to prepare items and small garnishes they cannot handle at cafeteria scale.

Grodek said the truck’s sales follow the same payment rules as the cafeteria: at schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision, such as Crockett, all students receive meals at no charge; paid students are charged the paid rate, and reduced-price students are charged the reduced rate.

She said the truck aims to give students a different option toward the end of the school year, when she described students as experiencing “menu fatigue.” Grodek said the truck lets staff spend extra time on items such as lime zest or flat-top cooking that aren’t feasible for high-volume cafeteria lines.

The district-provided truck was described by Grodek as part of a seasonal rollout to high schools; she said one of the burritos grew out of a previous middle-school recipe contest and was adapted for the truck.

No board action, vote or formal policy change was recorded in the transcript regarding the food truck; Grodek’s remarks described operations and menu choices.