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.
Continue readingTag Archives: food and agriculture literacy
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.
Continue readingNutrition 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.
Continue readingBeyond 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.
Continue readingNutrition 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.
Continue readingHISD 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.
Continue readingHISD employees learn about hydroponic farming
No soil to farm? No problem. A group of HISD employees learned how to grow plants in water during a crash course at the Dream Harvest Farming Company.
Pop-up farmers market coming to HISD’s Hattie Mae White building
Nutrition Services Food and Agriculture Literacy Program will host a pop-up farmers market at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Friday, June 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Continue readingWaltrip 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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