Brittany Kelley
KYLE — For more than 10 years, Hays CISD’s Child Nutrition Department has been providing children with the opportunity to learn about healthy food options and preparation.
According to Thomas Stone, child nutrition director, the program began when a chef within Southwest Food Service Excellence — the company the district contracts for the department — came up with the idea, thus, forming the program now known as Roving Chef.
The program occurs approximately twice a month when a chef and a nutritionist go to one of the district’s campuses and a group of students — usually selected by the principal as a reward —work with the chef to create food, while learning about healthy eating.
“My chef gets to the school ahead of time and he preps with a nutritionist and they lay everything out, so that way [the kids aren’t] waiting for anything,” explained Stone. “A lot of the items will come in cups and so, it’s kind of preassembled [and] ready for them to put together … The kids will come out, the chef will walk them through the instructions on the recipe, they’ll assemble it [and] if we need to bake it off or cook it, we’ll do it in the back. While it’s cooking or while they’re eating, my nutritionist will talk about some things.”
This includes topics, such as fun facts about the fruit or vegetables they might be trying, how it is good for their body or what isn’t good for their body — just a general opportunity to lead the students in the right direction.
Stone explained that this is also a chance for students to expand their palette and try new foods: “I can’t tell you how many kids I had that have never had a blueberry before, but the thing is, it’s not because of any fault of their own; it’s a socioeconomic thing. So, we introduce these kids to a lot of different fruits and vegetables they normally wouldn’t have and we encourage them to try them.”
After, the students receive a certificate for their completion of the program and the recipe card, as well as the chef hat that they wore during the activity.
Each session offers new recipes that range from fruit sushi to calzones to seasonal dishes. It also varies depending on whether the students are in elementary or high school. New to the program this year is letting the older students in middle and high school cut some of the items themselves and cook them, rather than the chef doing it.
The director noted that this program is important because many children are uneducated on healthy foods and often have unhealthy diets at home. He stated that more instruction given to them in school will lead students to make better decisions for themselves, as well as learn to like more fruit and vegetables in the future.
Additionally, he stated that a lot of children and adults have bad relationships with food, which can hopefully be remedied by showing students that there are options that don’t come from a bag or from the freezer.
Because not all students are able to participate, Stone stated that parents can create a similar experience at home by encouraging their children to try one new item each time they go to the grocery store.
“The other thing is, have your kids help cook because a lot of kids don’t know what goes into recipes and food. So, [they’re] like, ‘Oh, I don’t like onions,’ but half the things they like have onions in them,” he said.
To learn more about the Child Nutrition Department, visit www.hayscisd.net/page/cafe-menus or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HaysChildNutrition.
