New district nutrition director outlines plan to expand after-school 'supper' and improve school meals

Michelle Valdez, the new director of child nutrition for the La Mesa‑Spring Valley School District, presented a detailed account of the district's school‑meal operations and plans to the board on Sept. 30.

"My name is Michelle Valdez, and I am the new director of child nutrition here at the district," Valdez said as she introduced the department's staff, programs and recent changes. She told trustees the department currently runs seven meal programs, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) supper for after‑school ESS participants, summer feeding and Head Start meals. Valdez said participation drives federal reimbursement levels and credited universal free meals for recent gains in participation and reimbursement.

Valdez presented August 2025 participation figures, saying the district served about 104,000 lunches and roughly 50,000 breakfasts that month. She said the majority of reimbursement dollars come from the National School Lunch Program and that the district is self‑funded through federal and state reimbursement streams administered by the California Department of Education.

On after‑school meals, Valdez described the district's move to expand the CACFP 'supper' option. "Currently, we're doing about half of our schools serving supper," she said, adding the program is typically served about 30 minutes after school lets out (around the 3 p.m. hour) and that the department hopes to shift additional sites from snack to supper to increase reimbursement and meal quality.

Valdez also outlined menu and procurement strategies: the department is employing 'speed‑scratch' and scratch cooking to dress up commodity items, adding student taste tests, and working with a district chef and local farmers to improve flavor and variety. She described efforts to reduce single‑use packaging and food waste — citing state requirements and local composting initiatives — and said the district is transitioning away from individually wrapped items toward bulk items and compostable service ware where feasible.

Valdez reviewed upcoming federal nutrition changes that will affect local menus, saying the National School Lunch Program will phase in added‑sugar limits on certain breakfast items and a significant sodium reduction by June 30, 2027. "Right now, we're looking at about a 15% reduction for lunch and about a 10% for breakfast," she said, adding the district will adjust recipes and procurement in stages to meet the new standards.

Trustees asked about meal‑service logistics at sites with limited kitchen capacity and about exemptions or accommodations for students with medical dietary needs. Valdez said the district operates a mix of central kitchens, stand‑alone kitchens and roughly eight to nine satellite kitchens that receive prepared food from central sites; storage and equipment constraints at satellite kitchens limit some reuse options. For medically necessary accommodations, she said staff use medical accommodation forms tied to the point‑of‑sale system so servers are alerted when a student has an allergy or need.

Valdez discussed past and future grant activity: the district used prior Kitchen Infrastructure and Training (KIT) grant funds through June 30, 2025 to purchase a large freezer at the operations center to receive state commodities, and she said a new KIT round is likely in 2026 with a more competitive application process.

On funding stability, Valdez told trustees she expects some federal support to continue, though levels and program rules could change; she noted California has supplemented programs in some cases and that state and grant funding may help bridge future gaps.

The presentation included examples of menu items and student outreach aimed at increasing participation; trustees thanked Valdez and the board moved on to the consent calendar. The board did not take a separate vote on the nutrition presentation; it was presented for information and discussion.