Category Archives: Nutrition Services

HISD celebrates Thanksgiving with special lunch at schools

Thanksgiving is approaching quickly, and parents of Walnut Bend Elementary School students visited the school on Thursday to enjoy a hearty Thanksgiving lunch with their children.

The special celebration, occurring during normal lunch hours, is an HISD tradition that has attracted thousands of families to school cafeterias for more than 50 years. The event gives parents a chance to celebrate the holiday a week early by sharing a meal with their children.

The students and their families filled their plates with roasted turkey, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and sweet potato cake. Families sat down to enjoy their meals at reserved tables with fall-themed tablecloths and centerpieces. Continue reading →

Nutrition Services to host annual Thanksgiving lunch for students

HISD Nutrition Services is gearing up to host its annual Thanksgiving lunch for students across the district on Thursday, Nov. 15.

The special celebration, occurring during normal lunch hours, is an HISD tradition that has attracted thousands of families to school cafeterias for more than 50 years. The event gives parents a chance to celebrate the holiday a week early by sharing a meal with their children.

Continue reading →

Students dance, play games at Nutrition Services Fall Tailgates

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A large group of energetic Holland Middle School students danced alongside their teachers in the school cafeteria last week, while others played Connect 4 and cornhole.

Other students streamed through the lunch line — decorated with white and blue balloons — as cafeteria staff handed out bright green water bottles to students.

The event was a part of a Fall Tailgate series hosted by HISD’s Nutrition Services department. In its second year, the Fall Tailgates are designed to get students excited about school lunch and encourage them to select healthier meal options.

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Wiggins named one of Time’s 50 Most Influential People in Health Care

Betti Wiggins, HISD’s officer of Nutrition Services, is no stranger to accolades. She was previously featured in a PBS special and her work was also recognized by General Mills, who gave her a Wheaties box emblazoned with her photograph.

Most recently, she was named one of TIME Magazine’s 50 Most Influential People in Health Care for 2018.

This year was the first time the magazine compiled the Health Care 50 list, asking “a team of health editors and reporters to nominate people who significantly changed the state of U.S. health care” and evaluating their work “on key factors, including originality, impact, and quality,” according to TIME Magazine’s website. Continue reading →

2018 National School Lunch Week shines spotlight on importance of good food

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Cheers and laughter echoed around the room as Mandarin Immersion Magnet School students rushed to the cafeteria for lunch on Wednesday.

Many of the students were eager to select a lunch option from “Student Favorites,” a special menu featuring pizza, chicken sandwiches, and fresh salads served as part of National School Lunch Week.

“The salads are good,” said fifth-grader Brady Gastineau about the salad bar implemented at his school as part of a districtwide initiative to make them available in every school by the spring. “I like that you can choose what you want to put on them.” Continue reading →

HISD to emphasize good food during National School Lunch Week

Nutrition Services will mark National School Lunch Week with cafeteria-decorating contests, Lucky Lunch Tray giveaways, and a behind-the-scenes cafeteria media tour to showcase the work that goes into making and serving good food.

With a theme of “Level Up with a Healthy Lunch,” National School Lunch Week provides the perfect opportunity to highlight the mission of Nutrition Services – providing students with access to good food that is simple, wholesome, colorful, and made with locally sourced ingredients.

The week is observed nationally from Oct. 15 to 19. Continue reading →

Cooking competition champs serve winning meal to fellow Milby HS students

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Three Milby High School culinary students were transformed into real world chefs on Thursday, as they led the campus kitchen staff in preparing an award-winning meal for fellow students.

Students Jordyn Moore, Roberto Blas, and Estevan Mata — collectively named the Broadway Buffs — were the second-place winners of the national Cooking Up Change competition, which they advanced to in June after winning top honors in the district’s competition earlier this year.
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Salad bars set to expand across district this school year

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When most people think about students’ favorite lunches, they think of the standards – pizza, hamburgers, mac and cheese. But the introduction of salad bars at school cafeterias across the district is challenging the notion of what students enjoy eating.

Last year, the Houston Independent School District’s Nutrition Services department introduced salad bars as a standard option at more than 20 elementary schools. The pilot program was a first for elementary schools and proved so successful that salads made up more than half the meals served on the first day. Continue reading →

HISD Nutrition Services to host annual Grandparents Day celebration

HISD Nutrition Services is set to host its annual Grandparents Day celebration on Thursday, Sept 13 to honor all grandparents districtwide.

Grandparents Day, recognized the Sunday after Labor Day, is a national holiday that recognizes the important role grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren.

Students are encouraged to ask their grandparents to join them for a special lunch served by school cafeterias to commemorate the day. Continue reading →

HISD dietitian earns School Nutrition Specialist credential

Elementary students may know her as the Lunch Lady – the lovable storybook character who serves up lunch with a side of justice. But Nan Cramer takes school lunches and good nutrition seriously.

Cramer, a registered dietitian with HISD’s Nutrition Services, recently earned certification as a school nutrition specialist. She received the credentials last month after taking a comprehensive credentialing exam administered by the School Nutrition Association, a national industry association that supports schools with professional development and other programs. Continue reading →