Nutrition Services representatives (L-R): Glenn Topfer (vendor liaison), Amanda Oceguera (nutrition manager), Angela Olige (chief administrator), and Audene Chung (senior administrator) accept the award on behalf of the district.

HISD’s Nutrition Services department was recently recognized for supporting agriculture in the Lone Star State. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) presented it with a “Cream of the Crop” award on Jan. 8 for the district’s commitment to sourcing food locally.

Each year, the TDA challenges schools to use more Texas products in the meals they serve during National School Lunch Week and recognizes those who complete the challenge.

HISD served nine menu items that were locally sourced, including milk from Oak Farms, apple juice from Cal-Tex, and tortillas from Kurz.

“Our vision is to create more recipes from scratch, sourcing the ingredients and menu items locally to not only provide wholesome meals for our students, but also to support the Texas community,” said Audene Chung, senior administrator of Nutrition Services.

This was the district’s second year of recognition. HISD Nutrition Services was also presented with the Grapefruit Award for completing a local products challenge last year.