THE FOODSERVICE TEAM MAKES NUTRITION AN INTEGRAL PART OF STUDENTS' SCHOOL DAY THROUGH THEMED LITERARY LUNCHES, MATH PROBLEMS ON COOKIE PACKAGING AND MORE. BY JULIANNE PEPITONE OPERATIONS FOODSERVICE OPERATION OF THE MONTH GRAPEVINE-COLLEYVILLE ISD: WHERE CAFETERIA AND CLASSROOM COME TOGETHER
room. Themed “literary lunches” tie into lessons. The team’s chef held a three-day cooking class in late June, weeks after the school year ended. Some treats like cookies include pack- aging with math problems to celebrate the district’s Mathematics Monday. “Our motto is ‘More than just a school lunch,’ and we see ourselves as an important part of the school day,” says Food Service Director Julie Telesca. “We are responsible for the only time that our students can recharge, replenish, refresh and enjoy time with
their friends before going back to learn more. We take that mission very seri- ously,” she adds. Telesca’s team uses the hashtag #morethanjustaschoollunch in nearly every post on group’s highly active X (formerly Twitter) account and oth- er social media. Those posts back up the hashtag—highlighting interactive fun like taste tests of whole-grain egg rolls and a nutrition team member participating in an “AttenDANCE” with young students. But it’s the #LiteraryLunch and
F or many young students, school foodservice is a concept relegat- ed to the cafeteria: They swing by for a few minutes, eat lunch, and head back to class. It’s not something linked to the rest of their school day, and certainly not to their summers when school is out. But at Grapevine-Colleyville Inde- pendent School District in Texas, the foodservice team works hard to bridge the gap between cafeteria and class-
The nutrition team at Grapevine-Colleyville ISD tries to meet and connect with students through taste tests, cooking classes and more.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GRAPEVINE-COLLEYVILLE ISD
FSD QUARTERLY
Q2 2024
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