As part of National School Lunch Week, HISD’s Nutrition Services Department celebrated with games, prizes, 60s music and healthy food at Braeburn Elementary School on Thursday, Oct 13, 2022.

“We have a Lucky Tray Day promotion where any kid that goes through the line has a chance of winning a prize,” said Area Manager for Special Events and Promotions Nicole Bean.

National School Lunch Week was established by Congress and President John F. Kennedy in 1962 and continues to provide great opportunities to reinforce the importance of fueling our students with a well-balanced and fun lunch.

“Now days, everything is so quick, fast and not necessarily nutritious,” said Bean. “I think giving them a baseline of what a healthy meal should include is a good starting point, so they make better decisions as they get older.”

In partnership with the School Nutrition Association, the department selected “Peace, Love & School Lunch” as this year’s theme.

All HISD schools and cafeterias were asked to help promote the week by providing students with informative and playful activities centered around the throwback theme.

Nutrition Services Registered Dietitian, Nathan Raska says there are many ways to engage students about the importance of nutrition. 

“Today we’re doing a plant-based tie dye to celebrate National School Lunch Week,” said Raska.  “We’re doing a yellow tie dye and using turmeric as our coloring device. This is a part of our food science nutrition education program to get kids interested and excited about nutrition in new and novel ways.”

In addition to Braeburn Elementary School, the department also visited Kennedy Elementary School and Southmayd Elementary School to promote and celebrate National School Lunch Week.

“This week is very important, so we know that our students have the necessary nutrients in order to have a productive morning and afternoon,” said Nutrition Services Operations Manager Juan Gonzales. “I believe good nutrition is important to our students’ academic success because they need the energy to stay aware and open-minded throughout the day. We can see that in our classrooms when children are more active, energized and interactive with each other.

Learn more about HISD’s Nutrition Services Department and National School Lunch Week here.