A Celebration of ‘Good Food, Real Food'

The Legacy High School staff serve meals with a smile.

A balanced diet is an important part of good health, and the Mansfield ISD Student Nutrition Team makes sure students and staff receive that nutritious foundation every day.

National School Lunch Week is a time to recognize school nutrition professionals around the country for their passion for food and education while bringing awareness to the federally-funded National School Lunch Program.

The federal program requires school meals to meet federal nutrition standards like offering fruits and vegetables every day, serving whole grain-rich foods, and limiting fat, calories and sodium.

Mansfield ISD has gone above and beyond those standards by adding a variety of scratch meals and fresh options on the menu. Some of the house-made items are chicken spaghetti, lasagna, taco meat, hot rolls, cinnamon rolls, various breads and sauces.

Rita Denton, director of student nutrition at MISD, said the weeklong celebration of National School Lunch Week is a great way to recognize the impact the kitchen staff has on their campuses.

“It’s a week that we get to celebrate our team and stakeholders. We get to give thanks to our food service professionals,” she explained. “They come in every day preparing fresh, healthy, delicious meals for our students.”

The theme for National School Lunch Week 2018 is “School Lunch: Lots 2 Love.” Some of the special celebrations at MISD included giveaways, highlighting student favorites on the menu, emphasizing locally sourced ingredients and providing free desserts for elementary students.

“For us, it’s just a celebration about ‘good food, real food’ and about our students,” Denton said.

She added that her team members are some of the best and most cheerful in the industry. They play a crucial role in starting the day off right with a breakfast and recharging the students at lunchtime.

MISD’s Student Nutrition Services served more than 5 million meals last year with a projection to serve even more this year.

National School Lunch Week 2018 is Oct. 15 through Oct. 19. The observance was started in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy.

For more information about MISD’s Student Nutrition Services, visit the department’s webpage.

MISD Elementary School Wins $30,000 Makeover

Martha Reid Leadership Academy is getting a hefty cafeteria makeover, and it’s all thanks to a peanut butter rice flan recipe.

As reported weeks ago, 5-year-old student Gabby and her mom, Luciana Malkomes, entered the nationwide Ben’s Beginners cooking photo contest.

The mother said Gabby loves helping her in the kitchen, and the contest was a perfect way to continue bonding with the chance of winning a monetary prize for her family and school.

Out of more than 500 photo entrees, the Malkomes family was picked as a top 25 finalist. The public then voted for their favorite picture. Winners were chosen based on number of votes, creativity, presentation of dish and appetite appeal.

“I received a call around Veterans Day that Gabby had won,” said Principal Rebecca Stephens. “We had to keep it a secret from them until today’s surprise presentation.”

Gabby and her mom taught students how to cook the winning recipe.

Luciana Malkomes thought she was going to a school assembly about cooking. Little did she know, she was the guest of honor for the big announcement.

“I still can’t believe it,” the mother said. “I’m really happy and thankful to God, Uncle Ben’s and Martha Reid for this opportunity. This is going to be a story [Gabby] keeps for the rest of her life.”

The winner of the contest wins $15,000. Another $30,000 is given to the school for a cafeteria makeover. School and district officials will work together to see what cafeteria upgrades would best meet the needs of students.

“We can’t wait to sit down and see how we can transform the cafeteria and encourage kids to try different and healthier options,” Stephens added.

The Ben’s Beginners contest first launched in 2011. The program’s goal is to encourage kids to cook and develop healthier eating habits.

Homegrown Salad Bar Becomes Staple at MISD Elementary School

It’s not every day that children are excited to eat their fruits and vegetables, but at one Mansfield ISD school, the produce is a result of weeks of hard work.

Tarver-Rendon Elementary School is home to the district’s first salad bar for elementary school students. The idea is part of the school’s new agricultural leadership program, which teaches students responsibility through growing and caring for plants and animals.

Students in the program plant and harvest vegetables at an on-campus garden. The school worked in partnership with the district’s Student Nutrition Services to feature those homegrown fruits and vegetables in a salad bar during lunch.

“It’s a great addition to our agricultural program,” said Shaye Anne Atwood, agricultural leadership teacher. “The students can use the bar to get a side salad or to have a salad for their meal. Some of the items are grown right here, and we also work with a local farmer to supply items.”

The featured homegrown produce will rotate with the seasons.

Atwood said the students have responded positively to the new salad bar because they were part of the entire process, from seedling to full-grown food. Jenny Laib, assistant director of student nutrition, added that students who normally don’t like healthy foods are coming back for seconds.

“The best part about the salad bar is watching the kids light up,” said Laib. “The fact that they’re getting to customize it and use the utensils themselves, we’re seeing a huge difference with the kids with how well received it’s been.”

Tarver-Rendon Elementary School’s salad bar is being tested out on third and fourth-graders first. Staff hope to expand the food option to other grades in the near future.

Apart from the salad bar, agricultural leadership skills are incorporated into all subjects at the campus. Atwood said her hope is that the program will grow and follow the students throughout their educational career.

For more information about the agricultural leadership program, and other Mansfield ISD Power of Choice initiatives, visit the district website.

Student Nutrition Cooking Up New Foods for Fall

Sturner prepared the chicken spaghetti in the test kitchen.

While students are out for the summer break, Mansfield ISD Student Nutrition Services is heating up their oven making sure everyone comes back to some new tasty, yet nutritious, meals.

Foods like chicken spaghetti, grilled chicken pesto subs, chicken and waffle paninis, hash brown casseroles, Asian chicken and rice bowls, and grilled stuffed burritos will be making their debut for certain grade levels in the fall.

Chef Isabella Sturner is charged with making new recipes for MISD schools. She said the process to get different foods on the menu is a collaborative one.

“I work closely with Denise Hayslip (MISD’s dietician) to make sure each recipe is compliant with USDA regulations,” said the district’s culinary trainer. “We try to keep our meals delicious, fresh and relevant—food that the students will actually eat.”

And MISD students have a say in what foods make the cut. When all the food guidelines are met, students taste them and provide their feedback.

“We recently had a taste testing for students at Summit High School. They really enjoyed the shrimp fajitas and jalapeno cornbread,” Sturner continued.

Sturner said the upcoming year’s meals will have a southern home flare to it, and nothing says homestyle better than making the food from scratch.

Fresher food, like this strawberry salsa, is the goal.

“The lasagna, zucchini bread, taco meat, fried rice, lo mein, ranch, spaghetti sauce—all of that is homemade. We have a good blend of scratch cooking, which is impressive since we have to serve 300 to 500 people within a 10-minute window,” she explained.

The nutrition workers try to accommodate all types of eaters, including vegetarians. That’s why they’re hosting a vegetarian item sample session on July 17 at 11 a.m. Anyone interested can go to the Student Nutrition office on 1151 Mansfield-Webb Road in Arlington.

With an average of more than 20,000 people being served each school day, the department certainly has its hands—and cafeterias—full, but workers said they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“My favorite part about food is the amount of enjoyment others get. We’re serving good food that’s real food,” Sturner added.

MISD Student Nutrition Services distributed more than 5 million meals last year. For more information about menus and pricing, visit the department website.

MISD Departments Work Together After Storm

Storms rolled through Mansfield ISD in the early morning hours on March 29. The damage caused by these storms forced MISD to close the district for the day while repairs were made to campuses.

Not all employees were free from work that day. In fact, many departments put in extra hours in order to make sure classes were ready to resume the following day.

To dealing with power outages and fallen trees, many employees found themselves doing jobs that may not fall in their respective duties.

Mark Williamson, MISD's director of maintenance, and his team were up early assessing and repairing the damage made.

"I had plumbers getting batting cages off backstops. I had electricians helping with the removal of trees," Williamson stated about the flexibility of his staff. "I had carpenters working with the grounds team collect and remove debris. It was all hands on deck."

The scoreboard at Timberview High School's
baseball field was damaged by the storm.

When the power goes out on a campus, it affects more than just the classroom environment. The Student Nutrition department has to immediately begin to implement a plan for their food inventory on campuses. Many of the campuses powered back up before the inventory could be affected; but for five campuses, plans had to be made to maintain the quality of the food.

Dr. Paul Cash, executive director of facilities and operations, was very pleased with the districtwide effort that was made to help these campuses.

"The distribution department rounded up their freezer trucks and arranged pick ups at the five campuses needing assistance," Cash said. "Student nutrition technicians, members of the MISD Energy Team and other district employees were on site to load these trucks in order to maintain quality of the food."

The ultimate goal on any weather-related school dismissal day is to get students back in the classroom as soon as possible. Through the efforts of numerous departments working together, MISD was able to return to class the next day.

"The majority of teachers returned to class the next day with lights on and food being served to students," Cash explained. "Not once during all the work that lead to that did one person make a negative comment about the job that had to be done. They got up and came to work committed to stay as long as they needed to stay in order to get kids back to school."