Tag Archives: food and agriculture literacy

Earth Day brings volunteers to HISD’s Mykawa Farm for day of service

Since its inception, Mykawa Farm has been the beating heart of the mission of HISD’s Nutrition Services Department. The headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Literacy Center (FALC), Mykawa Farm is a working educational farm where students gain not only foundational knowledge about agriculture and the environment, but have an opportunity to volunteer or work for pay, developing skills they will take with them into adulthood.

Nutrition Services welcomed more than 70 volunteers from local organizations The Mission Continues and CarMax to the farm on Saturday, April 27 (a make-up date after unexpected rains upended the original planned date, Earth Day). The volunteers set to work building arbors and trellises in the Mykawa Sensory Garden, a new fence to protect crops from scavenging animals, and new ADA-compliant picnic tables.

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HISD chefs and nutritionists make healthy cooking fun for elementary students

Since January, HISD’s Nutrition Services Department has been working closely with Berry Elementary School to bring agriculture literacy into every classroom. HISD’s Chef Brittany Jones and registered dietitians Gabby Villarreal and Nathan Raska are in the process of visiting every class at Berry and providing students a fun and educational cooking demonstration and nutrition lecture.

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Hearts and Harvests: MLK Day of Service with HISD Nutrition Services

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., HISD’s Nutrition Services Department hosted 86 students at the Food and Agriculture Literacy Center at Mykawa Farm for a day of volunteering, learning, and strategizing to combat food insecurity in the HISD community on Saturday, Jan. 13. Attendees included students from Stevenson Middle School, Kashmere, Wheatley, and Worthing High School students in the Miles Ahead Scholars program, as well as the Texas A&M 4-H Global Leadership Beyond Education (G.L.O.B.E.) program.

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Nutrition Services makes good on plan to develop agriculture programs and teach healthy eating habits

In 2022, Nutrition Services was the recipient of a generous grant from Houston Methodist to further fund their efforts to expand agricultural programs at six HISD high schools and integrate nutrition and culinary education into their classwork.

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Beyond the Plate to Capitol Hill: HISD Nutrition hosts USDA Deputy Under Secretary

HISD’s award-winning Nutrition Services Department welcomed guests on Jan. 30, including USDA Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean, for a roundtable discussion about Beyond the Plate, the district’s focus on building capacity within HISD communities to ensure they have access to healthy food options.

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Nutrition Services hosts elementary and middle schoolers for Food and Agriculture Literacy Harvest Festival

The Food and Agriculture Literacy Center at Mykawa Farm is a labor of love made possible by HISD’s dedicated Nutrition Services Department. Mykawa caretakers welcomed two classes from Young Elementary School and Attucks Middle School for a Fall Harvest Festival to celebrate a successful planting season.

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HISD Nutrition Services earns top 10 spot in international challenge

HISD’s Nutrition Services Department is committed to mitigating inequity in childhood nutrition in the Houston area. Since the inception of Mykawa Farm, home to the department’s Food and Agriculture Literacy Center, Nutrition Services has prioritized practical and tangible uses for the education they provide through the Get Growing Houston program.

Nutrition Services recently took their ideas to a global stage, reaching top 10 in the Healthy Childhood Challenge (HCC). The international competition launched by Novo Nordisk in collaboration with UNICEF calls for ideas designed to improve the nutritional, physical, and emotional well-being of children in their home environments.

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Waltrip HS honors school lunch heroes

Waltrip High School wrapped up Teacher Appreciation Week on Friday, May 6, with the presentation of a proclamation from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner recognizing School Lunch Hero Day. It’s a day of celebration in honor of HISD’s dedicated Nutrition Services staff and the lasting impact their work has on the students they feed every day.

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