McAllen ISD outlines multi‑year plan to boost scratch cooking after parent calls for healthier breakfasts
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Summary
After multiple parent comments urging reductions in sugary, highly processed breakfasts, McAllen ISD’s child nutrition director presented a five‑year plan to increase scratch or “speed scratch” cooking districtwide with a 2030 target that 75% of entrées and side dishes be made from recipes.
Parents and students packed the McAllen ISD board meeting to press the district for healthier school meals and earlier action on breakfast options, prompting a detailed presentation from the child nutrition department.
Herschel Patel, who identified himself as a parent, told trustees that he found “Lucky Charms marshmallow bar” items in his child’s lunch and urged immediate steps "to remove sugary, starchy, highly processed sweet breakfast items like Froot Loops and chocolate banana bars" and to stop serving fruit juice on campus. "We need to distinguish treats from staple foods," Patel said during the two‑minute public comment period.
Child Nutrition Director Sonny Esquivel told the board the department has already begun changes and outlined a multi‑year strategy that the district says balances scale, safety and federal requirements. “Our goal is that by 2030 at least 75% of our entrées or side dishes are prepared using scratch cook,” Esquivel said, explaining a phased approach that includes staff culinary training, revised recipes, kitchen equipment upgrades and central kitchen testing. Esquivel described “speed scratch” as using minimally processed components that are finished on campus and gave the district’s current participation rates as of Jan. 12: breakfast 75%, lunch 82% and dinner 10.7%.
Esquivel said some breakfast items are already being phased out — the district is replacing a breakfast bar with a chia bar — and staff are testing menu shifts and central kitchen packing methods to expand items such as yogurt parfaits. She also described a plan to include locally grown produce in upcoming purchasing bids, while cautioning that local suppliers may not be able to meet district‑wide demand immediately.
Board members encouraged staff to accelerate changes where possible and urged clarity on costs, storage and staffing. Trustee discussion focused on the need for a comprehensive skills assessment and potential partnerships to speed implementation, with trustees noting nearby districts that have phased in similar programs over multiple years.
The presentation was delivered as an information item; no formal board action was taken. Trustees and administrators encouraged parents and community groups to collaborate with child nutrition staff as the district moves from pilot tests toward broader implementation.