Category Archives: Nutrition Services

Baker Montessori School chicken project something to crow about

As students and staff arrive each morning at Baker Montessori School, they’re cheerfully greeted with a flock of clucking chickens.

The laying hens bob their heads up and down, trilling softly as they make their way around the large, enclosed chicken run safely housed near the gym. Some begin squawking, having laid their daily egg in the nesting area.

They waddle toward the entry and peck at the ground as a small group of students from Baker — formerly known as Wilson Montessori School — comes in to visit.

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Baker Montessori School students use garden to learn real-world science lessons

On sunny weekends, parents and students gather in the Baker Montessori School garden where they pull on gloves and grab rakes and trowels to remove weeds and leaves from the musky soil.

The students at Baker — formerly called Wilson Montessori School — are learning to grow fragrant flowering herbs and study their uses. Once the flowers bloom, students will cut some of the plants and infuse them in oil or dry them to make spices or teas.

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Community food distribution program ending, campus curbside pickup to continue through end of school year

With just three weeks left in the school year and public health conditions improving across the city, the Houston Independent School District is preparing to shut down its Neighborhood Supersite community food distribution program.

The two final distributions will be held this Wednesday, May 26, 2021 and next Wednesday, June 2, 2021. Both will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. at Barnett Stadium, 6800 Fairway Drive. No further Saturday distributions are scheduled.

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HISD school lunch heroes honored with city proclamation

Dozens of Nutrition Services employees gathered by black tents as cars snaked through the parking lot at Barnett Stadium – a Neighborhood Supersite where families can pick up student meals, family food boxes, and household supplies.

But this Wednesday, the team was surprised with a proclamation from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner designating Friday, May 7, 2021 as HISD National School Lunch Hero Day.

“Today, we celebrate Nutrition Services employees,” Interim Co-Chief Operating Officer Eugene Salazar said as he presented the proclamation. “This proclamation acknowledges your outstanding achievements and unwavering dedication to families and students in our community.”

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Budding artists surprised as winners of Blast Off with a Healthy School Breakfast art contest

First-grader Nidarshani Chinthagunta gasped and her eyes widened as a bright turquoise bike adorned with white balloons was wheeled into the T.H. Rogers conference room where she stood sandwiched between her mother and school principal.

Grabbing the 20-inch Titan Tomcat by the seat and handlebars, she carefully eyed the new bike as she whispered a shy, “thank you.”

Nidarshani was one of two grand prize winners in the district’s “Blast Off with a Healthy School Breakfast” art contest held in honor of National School Breakfast Week in March.

More than 60 students submitted original artwork using the breakfast theme. A panel of judges from the district’s Nutrition Services and Fine Arts departments selected the top winners at the elementary and secondary levels.

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Nutrition classes at Attucks MS, Worthing HS set up students for success

As students begin to think about the future, Nutrition Services Culinary Educator Brittany Jones is working to ensure they’re equipped with a key ingredient for success — the basics of cooking.

Chef Jones is one of two educators who teach “Get Growing Houston” classes at Attucks Middle School and Worthing Early College High School. The 10-week classes were piloted at the schools to help students learn the importance of good nutrition and the fundamentals of cooking.

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HISD delivers meals directly to students through apartment complex distribution program

A steady wind churned gray clouds across the sky as dozens of HISD families lined up Thursday outside the Chestnut Hill Apartments office, waiting to pick up student meals for their children.

HISD’s Nutrition Services regularly delivers to this Southwest Houston apartment complex — and 24 others — to provide meals to virtual learning students whose families can’t get to curbside distributions.

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National School Breakfast Week shines light on food insecurity

Stationed in the hallway near the cafeteria, Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center junior Christopher Nazario ate his favorite breakfast cereal while going over the previous night’s homework on his laptop.  

Like many across the country, the Nazario family budget took a recent hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Having access to a healthy school breakfast served at no charge was a big help.

“Eating breakfast here helps my family, and it helps me because I can use the time in the morning to do homework,” Nazario said. “I know they offer a lot of different items for breakfast each morning. I hope they will serve pancakes sometime soon.”

National School Breakfast Week kicks off today (Monday, March 8) with the theme Blast Off with a Healthy School Breakfast. Nutrition Services is celebrating the week by shining a light on the role school breakfast plays in student success.

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HISD Nutrition Services honored for efforts to feed students

The Houston Independent School District was ranked No. 4 among the state’s top large school districts for its outstanding child nutrition program, according to the 2021 Kroger School Food Rankings released Tuesday.

Established by Children At Risk in partnership with Kroger, the rankings recognize top-performing school food programs that go above and beyond to ensure low-income students have access to healthy food.

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Community food distributions planned to help with winter storm recovery

The Houston Independent School District is partnering with Houston Food Bank to host community food distributions over the next three days to ensure Houston families have access to food as they recover from the winter storm.

The community distributions will be held it three different locations over the next three days — Barnett Stadium on Saturday, NRG on Sunday, and Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Monday.

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