3 minute read
Coronado Unified Schools Focus On Nutrition
Under the leadership of two innovative Registered Dietitians, the Coronado Unified School District Child Nutrition Services (CNS) Department is providing students not just healthy meals, but nutrition education and an opportunity to expand tastes and experience new foods.
CNS Director Charity Campbell, MS, RD, SNS, and CNS Supervisor Amanda Tarantino, MDA, RD, SNS, have brought a variety of new programs and initiatives to their expanded department.
In 2022, California became the first state to implement a statewide Universal Meals Program for school children. The state mandate requires schools to provide daily breakfast and lunch, not just to children with economic hardship, but to all children enrolled in school.
Campbell and Tarantino have embraced the expansion of their department. They have implemented a ‘Try It Tuesday’ program, scratch made entrees, nutrition education presentations at all grade levels, and farmers markets and hydroponic farming lessons at the elementary level. On ‘Try It Tuesday’ the department prepares organic recipes using seasonal and local ingredients obtained from San Diego County farms.
Salad Bar
School meals at all sites include an unlimited salad bar for both breakfast and lunch. Students are encouraged to come back as often as they want for more fruits and vegetables if they are still hungry. The salad bars include a different local, organic produce item each month.
Hydroponic Farming
One of the most exciting initiatives has been the introduction of hydroponic farming. Last year second grade students at Silver Strand Elementary School grew and harvested leafy greens in their hydroponic garden. Eventually the program will expand to other school sites.
Meal Planning
CUSD families can access an interactive menu called Meal Viewer in which viewers can see menu options with photos and descriptions, as well as allergy and nutrition information. Snacks too have been taken up a notch, offering middle and high school students healthy a la carte snacks during breaks. All snacks meet specific nutrition standards including low fat, low saturated fat, and low sugar.
CUSD Nutrition Services received an Innovation in Nutrition Education award from the USDA Action for Healthy Kids program. The award celebrates schools that have made significant improvement to nutritional quality of their school meals and spotlight innovative practices with student engagement. In addition to national and local recognition, the award includes a travel stipend to the 1st National healthy Meals Summit this October. Director Charity Campbell and Supervisor Amanda Tarantino will attend the summit.
Innovation
CUSD is the first district in the nation to work with ‘Robot Robby’ in a pilot program. The robot chef ensures that every batch of food prepared is standardized so meals comes out the same regardless of quantities needed. The robot is also minimal maintenance with a self-cleaning mechanism and ability to cooks a large batch in mere minutes, greatly reducing cook time. Robby helps the department to increase scratch cooking to give students the best quality food possible. Last year the CNS staff and Robby experimented with cooking menu items such as Beef Pad Thai, Chicken Fried Rice, Philly Cheesesteak Subs, and Scrambled Eggs.
