“
They see themselves as being there for the children , they ’ re very servant-type people in the way that they ’ ll do anything for the kids .
“ I felt more appreciated cooking for children than for adults ,” Tapia said , adding that his favorite age to serve are the preschoolers .
“ I ’ ve raised kids from Gibbs Pre-K through high school now . I know everyone that comes through a line , I speak to them everyday and get to talk to them ,” he added . “ A child ’ s going to tell you the truth of what your meal tastes and looks like . An adult will save your feelings , but I didn ’ t want that , I wanted to know what it was , was it good or was it bad ? They do tell you the truth , they appreciate what you give them and they feel comfortable telling you what they want .”
Tapia operates by trial and error to find what foods the kids like to eat , taking note of the year ’ s highest selling items to repeat every five weeks and to include in the summer feeding program meal kits that pack both lunch and breakfast .
Over the years , it ’ s become more of a complex challenge for him to find kid-friendly foods amidst ever-changing USDA and TEA guidelines .
“ I ’ ve seen it change from having fried chicken Fridays to no fried foods at all ,” Tapia said .
The district has made the change to 90 % scratch-cooking for the kids in order to better meet the rising standards laid forth by the USDA and TEA to combat rising cases of childhood obesity .
“ The sodium intake is the only hard impact that we ’ re going to have this year , in 2025 is when the whole grains really impacts everybody and that will be really hard , so right now , we ’ re trying to get everybody on the same track , get in there and just try it ,” Tapia said .
“ When you see a pasta that ’ s dark brown compared to a pasta that was
”
white , participation is going to go down ,” Tapia said . “ But we ’ re trying to get to that point where we ’ re going to make it look good and present it as best as we can so they can try to eat it .”
It ’ s a big difference from when HISD Child Nutrition Specialist Clerk Traci Taylor started 26 years-ago , remembering school lunches at the junior high that operated as a buffet style for kids to load up on as much as they wanted , while elementary schools lacked multiple choices .
Now , in a normal year , the kids are served three meals a day , an essential service in a school district operating at 85 % free and reduced lunches for the 2018-2019 school year , with lunch offering 16 options every day at the high school and five at the elementary schools . However , those choices were limited in the past year , due to the pandemic requiring classroom lunch service for younger grades and increased lunch periods for older kids to ensure social distancing .
“ People don ’ t know that it was hard work to serve those meals in the classroom ,” said HISD Assistant Superintendent of Operations Bill Roberts .
In the last year , their team also worked to serve evacuees sheltering at the schools during Hurricane Laura and provided five-day curbside meal packs for virtual students the entire school year . Now that summer has struck , the Seamless Summer Meal Program is already in full swing , as the Green Hornet Food Bus works to bring meals to families every week day .
“ They see themselves as being there for the children , they ’ re very servant-type people in the way that they ’ ll do anything for the kids ,” Roberts said .
Los Pericos
Mexican Restaurant
Voted Best Mexican Restaurant for a reason !
Dining Room & Bar seating for large groups !
Daily Lunch Specials Family-friendly atmosphere
We Do Catering and Reservations !
1548 11th Street , Huntsville 936-295-8131 506 Danville , Willis 936-890-0519
Open 7 Days a Week
Happy Hours
Mon 1-6:30p Tues All Day Wed-Fri 1-6:30p Sat 11a-5p Sun 2-9p
HUNTSVILLE LIVING | JULY-AUGUST 2021 | 11