This school year, CUSD Food and Nutrition served 80,940 lbs of organic produce! Did your student try any of the organically grown and/or local produce on CUSD school menus this May?
- Organic Strawberries from JAS Family Farms Organics grown in Hollister, CA (all sites, weeks of May 6 and May 21).
- Organic and conventional Gold Nugget Mandarins from Dickinson Family Farms grown in Temecula, CA (elementary sites, weeks of May 6, May 13, and May 20).
Farm to School Highlight: Organic Strawberries from JAS Family Farms Organics
The organic strawberries served in May were from JAS Family Farms Organics in Hollister, California. JAS Family Farms is a small, family-oriented business founded by Tony Serrano in 2014. They are certified organic by CCOF and are a part of the Fair Trade USA program. In addition to organic strawberries, the farm also grows organic produce such as bell peppers, broccoli, squash, cucumbers, carrots, kiwis, eggplants, and more!
In May, the elementary menu featured three new lunch recipes made from scratch in our Central Kitchen!
- Roasted Mary’s Chicken Drumstick with Hawaiian Roll: made with free range, certified humane, air chilled drumsticks from Mary’s Chicken.
- Corn Salad: made with corn, jalapeno, tomato, red onion, feta cheese, and a homemade dressing.
- Make Your Own Tacos: featuring scratch made taco seasoned beef and house made beans served with tortillas and a lettuce, tomato, and cheese cup.
- This item was inspired by Ms. PazSoldan’s 4th grade class at Las Palmas Elementary. The class taste tested a breakfast taco with Food & Nutrition in March. The students had great feedback, which led to a discussion of how to create a taco bar for students while keeping everything packaged. Why packaged? All of our elementary kitchens are categorized as pre-packaged facilities with the Health Department due to our elementary kitchen infrastructure. Students realized they liked their tacos in different ways and wanted to find a way for students to customize their taco. This inspired the Make Your Own Tacos recipe. The 4th graders presented a packaging prototype for a taco bar. The students used their geometry knowledge to develop the prototype that would fit inside a tray and presented a sales pitch to our Executive Chef, Nutrition Specialist, and Operations Manager.
On May 17, CUSD Food and Nutrition introduced a new electric food truck at San Juan Hills High School! This will be utilized on upper campus to reach more students during meal times. At the event, students sampled mango habanero chicken wings and freshly baked jalapeno cheese cornbread.
School is out, but free lunches will be available for all children 18 and under at the San Juan Capistrano Library. Lunch at the Library will run June 10 – July 25 (Monday-Thursday) from 12:00-1:00 PM at the San Juan Capistrano Library located at 31495 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano. No registration is required. Lunch must be eaten at the library. In addition to free lunches, the library will also provide free activities all summer long!