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Fresh Flavors and Culinary Excellence: RCSD’s Child Nutrition Services Delivers Delicious Changes

Fresh Flavors and Culinary Excellence: RCSD’s Child Nutrition Services Delivers Delicious Changes

Put down the spork because Child Nutrition Services is continuing on its path to make fresh and delicious changes in Redwood City School District (RCSD) cafeterias, now known as cafés.

CNS staff members have been cooking up some great ideas all summer long and stirring the pot during training sessions, including a fully immersive culinary training in Napa at theacclaimed Culinary Institute of America Copia campus. RCSD participated alongside more than 50 other school food service professionals to learn more about creating tasty, nutritious, and gorgeous gourmet foods for students.

The CNS department kicked off in-house training in August by testing new pizza products such as fresh milled flours, organic tomatoes for the sauce and name brand cheese and dairy ingredients.

Expanding its focus on quality of taste and ingredients by creating “fast scratch” menu items that allow staff to make large batches of nutritious food at school sites, CNS staff are working tirelessly to present wholesome, “kid-approved” meals to RCSD’s thousands of students. Meals also include a rainbow of fresh and local produce as part of the department’s Harvest of the Month program.

Orion Alternative Elementary School Child Nutrition Services staff member Irene Mendoza participates in the training at the Culinary Institute of America Copia campus

Orion Alternative Elementary School Child Nutrition Services staff member Irene Mendoza participates in the training at the Culinary Institute of America Copia campus

McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT) Child Nutrition Services staff member Dulce Vargas participates in the training at the Culinary Institute of America Copia campus

McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT) Child Nutrition Services staff member Dulce Vargas participates in the training at the Culinary Institute of America Copia campus

Aspiring to transform the cafeteria experience, RCSD Child Nutrition Services cafés are expanding menus with nutrient-rich, seasonal, and fresh ingredients, building community-oriented space for students to enjoy meals, and further training staff to deliver culinary excellence.

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