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November 2016 | Volume 24, Issue 3
www.the-courier.org | news@isd15.org
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The Courier
Independent School District 15 Communications Department St. Francis, Minnesota Serving the communities of Andover, Athens Township, Bethel, East Bethel, Linwood Township, Nowthen, Oak Grove, St. Francis and Stanford Township
Nutrition Services employees serve students healthy meals each day Heidi Anderson
Staff Writer
Students throughout Independent School District 15 (ISD 15) schools are fed healthy, balanced meals each school day. Sixty-seven staff members from the ISD 15 Nutrition Services department work hard to ensure every student is fed and doesn’t go hungry so they can fully focus on their schoolwork. Over the summer, the Nutrition Services office moved from the Central Services Center to a new location at 23306 Cree Street in St. Francis. Nutrition Services Program Supervisor Wendy Klobe says that having the office located near neighborhoods and other businesses makes it easier for families to stop by and ask questions or fill out an application for educational benefits. “Community members feel comfortable coming to our office, because it is embedded in the community and is centrally located,” Klobe said. Nutrition Services has kitchens located in all ISD 15 schools and they satellite meals to the Lifelong Learning Center, Crown Christian School and Trinity Lutheran Church & School. Between all of these sites, employees prepare to feed potentially 5,048 students each day.
Kitchen staff members work a variety of shifts. Managers work a full eight-hour workday and arrive at their schools around 6:00 a.m. to receive deliveries. Cooks work sevenand-a-half hours per day. Their job is to prepare and cook all of the food needed to serve breakfast and lunch. A lot of this work includes cutting fresh fruits and vegetables for students to enjoy. Helper servers and clerks work anywhere from twoand-a-half to four-and-a-half hours per day. Servers set up the food line, serve students during meal times and cleanup the kitchen and serving area. Cashiers ring up the student’s meals and make sure meal accounts are accurate each day and cafeteria monitors ensure the safety of all students. ISD 15 Nutrition Services follow federal guidelines that require school districts to offer five meal components, which are: meat or meat alternative, grains, fruit, vegetables and milk. Students must take at least three components, including a half-cup of vegetables or fruit. However, students are encouraged to take all five components for best nutrition. Cashiers at ISD 15 schools also make sure that students take at least three of the meal components. If not, they will
ask students to go back and select the required number of items. All ISD 15 schools have at least one salad bar stocked with a variety of fresh vegetables for students to create a healthy salad. Kitchen Specialist Patty Lewis says that by offering students access to healthy choices during their meals, the Nutrition Services department shows students how they can make healthy choices when it comes to nutrition in life. “Each day gives us an opportunity to teach students
how to make healthy choices,” Lewis said. According to Klobe, many of the Nutrition Services employees live in the community and are parents or grandparents of students in the District. Klobe says they are “compassionate individuals who are understanding of children.” Students are never turned down to receive a lunch, even if they have an insufficient balance in their meal account. Nutrition Services staff calls families once a student’s balance falls below zero.
Parents can check their student’s meal account balance anytime in the Infinite Campus portal on their computer. Nutrition Services office professional Deb Halde works hard to maintain department records. Nutrition Services employees are committed to high expectations in their work so they can help all ISD 15 students focus on learning to achieve their full potential, which is one of ISD 15’s core values, by ensuring that every student receives a healthy, wellbalanced breakfast or lunch.
All Independent School District 15 (ISD 15) schools participated in Apple Crunch Day October 13 as a part of National Farm to School Month. ISD 15 Nutrition Services provided students with an apple as a reminder of the important role farm to school plays in promoting well-being for students. PHOTO by Mollie Ziebart, The Courier
Inside Schools in Action..................................... 2 School Board Highlights...................... 11 Community & Business........................ 14 Community Education......................... 22 Sports & Outdoors................................ 25 Meetings, Events & Benefits................. 27 Life........................................................... 28