The first-ever "Taste of San Diego Unified" event was held at Bell Middle School, during which approximately 150 middle school students became food critics. Participating students sampled and rated various menu items, such as plant-based nachos and chow mein with Kyoto-style vegetables. The feedback will help determine next year's cafeteria menu, as documented by the San Diego Unified School District.
Yesterday, the event was carried out to honor National Farm to School Month, inviting students to actively participate in the menu-planning process and acquaint themselves with new cuisines. According to Food and Nutrition Services Director Alicia Pitrone Hauser, the event is part of a larger movement toward healthier and sustainable meal preparations in schools. It aimed to honor student's voices and promote local food and community connections.
In relation to the event, it is worth mentioning that the statewide Universal Meals Program in California, which commenced last year, has been a pioneering success. The San Diego Unified Food and Nutrition Services now daily, serves more than 86,000 nutritious meals at no cost to families, as conveyed by the district's news brief.
San Diego Unified places emphasis on access to fresh, locally sourced ingredients in their school meals for students. The school connects cafeterias with regional and local farms through the Farm to School program, offering students the pleasure of savoring vegetables and fruits grown in their vicinity. The initiative not only ensures students stay healthier, it also aids the local economy and propels sustainable practices.
In addition, the homemade cooking techniques employed at San Diego Unified have brought a fresh outlook to the cafeteria dining experience. With items such as home-cooked salsas, salad dressings, and oven-baked chicken drumsticks, the schools are effectively breaking the stereotype of uninteresting and monotonous school meals.
The San Diego Unified School District is earnest on issues regarding waste management. Students were exposed to the Love Food Not Waste initiative, which provides options to collect food scraps for composting in school gardens, "share tables" facilitating the passing along of unopened items, and food rescue operations to donate unclaimed food to local hunger relief organizations.
Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson encapsulates this philosophy at the event, "We thrive as a school district when students are respected and included in meaningful shared decision-making. It only makes sense to listen to their input when planning their menus."
