Want to know where to find delicious, nutritious meals? Try the AISD school cafeterias. Of course, you'd have to qualify as a student or visiting parent for the high-quality meals, but if you do, get ready for a treat.
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| Garlic and rosemary chicken |
We're not talking about the fish sticks, chipped beef, and polish sausages of days gone by. Instead, how about garlic and rosemary chicken, fruit salads direct from the farm, stuffed barbecue sandwiches on homemade bread with roast turkey, carrots with hummus dip, migas, and edamame and carrots?
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| Migas for breakfast |
The food revolution is not taking place just on television and in your grocery store. It is transforming AISD food service. AISD Nutritionist June Hayman has made sure that AISD has well surpassed proposed federal nutrition standards for public schools. Under her direction, our cafeterias don't use transfats, no butter or margarine is used in cooking vegetables, the fries are not fried but are baked, and low-fat milk is the norm. The district is also moving toward using only whole grains and reducing fats significantly. In addition, we are aggressively addressing the problems caused by food allergies, including the growing number of students who are allergic to peanuts.
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| Fruits and vegetables from local farms |
Ms. Hayman works closely with AISD Chef Steven Burke. In his seven years with AISD, Mr. Burke has done wonders in changing the recipes and training in our kitchens. He also wants to make sure the students eat what they find in the food line, trading out low-quality ingredients for more nutritional alternatives. For example, we now serve pizza on whole-wheat crust using low-fat mozzarella.
In addition, he is bringing more locally grown produce to our schools through the Farm to Table program and encouraging schools to have their students plant vegetable gardens.
During my visits to schools during the first week of class, I was lucky enough to arrive at several schools during their lunch hours. The students and I were not disappointed.
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| Chef Steven Burke with sushi |
