FOODSERVICE OPERATION OF THE MONTH Grapevine-Colleyville ISD: Where cafeteria and classroom come together
FRESH CONTENT FROM QUARTERLY
The foodservice team makes nutrition an integral part of students’ school day through themed literary lunches, math problems on cookie packaging and more.
whole-grain egg rolls and a nutrition team mem- ber participating in an “AttenDANCE” with young students. But it’s the #LiteraryLunch and #Mathematics- Monday posts that perhaps best exemplify Grape- vine-Colleyville ISD’s foodservice. For example, as part of a March Literary Lunch, nutrition team members read “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” to the district’s Dove El- ementary School students, who then enjoyed What-A-Lotta Meatballs for lunch. The older kids over at Grapevine Middle tried their hand at math problems printed on cookie packaging, with Chef Jason Aronen walking around to discuss. “We have to get that face time and build trust if we want to make connections with students,” Telesca explains. “We want to teach them that nutrition is important for learning in school, but also for the rest of their lives. So, we really have to show them that we care, and that what we do has an impact on their day.” ‘What we do has an impact’ That impact is always top-of-mind for the team, as the district of 13,500-plus students includes some economically disadvantaged areas. The foodser- vice team serves 18 schools, and all 16 of the pre- K-to-eighth-grade locations qualify for free meals under the National School Lunch Program. “I stress to our people all the time: This lunch might be the only hot meal that child gets that
BY JULIANNE PEPITONE
F or many young students, school foodser- vice is a concept relegated 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 certain- ly not to their summers when school is out. But at Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School Dis- trict in Texas, the foodservice team works hard to bridge the gap between cafeteria and classroom. 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 packaging 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 Teles- ca. “We are responsible for the only time that our stu- dents can recharge, replenish, refresh and enjoy time with their friends before going back to learn more. We take that mission very seriously,” she adds. Telesca’s team uses the hashtag #morethanjusta- schoollunch in nearly every post on group’s high- ly active X (formerly Twitter) account and other social media. Those posts back up the hashtag— highlighting interactive fun like taste tests of
Powered by FlippingBook