NO CHILD GOES HUNGRY
Huntsville ISD Food Service team goes above and beyond to feed Huntsville ’ s children
STORY & PHOTOS BY MICHELLE WULFSON
Gone are the days of the mass-produced pre-packaged frozen meals and the unsettling smiley face chicken nuggets – kids these days will never know how good they have it .
Rectangle cuts of soggy pizza have no place on HISD director of child nutrition services and executive chef Henry Tapia ’ s menus . Instead , he ’ s featuring fajitas , barbecue , steak , pulled pork sliders , salads , sandwiches , yogurt parfaits and smoothies at HISD schools , covering all of the bases in providing a nutritious meal for every craving .
“ Anything you see on a the food truck , you ’ ll get at the school . Anything you see at any kind of restaurant , we ’ ll get modifications and serve those foods ,” Tapia said .
With a focus on scratch-made cooking and a heart for innovation , Tapia ensures that the district ’ s kids get the best , and for the upcoming school year , he ’ s excited to unveil a new line of rotisseries , which will be used for chicken and pork , as well as new panini ovens for warm toasted sandwiches .
“ That will be exciting because they will get to see everything moving and cooking and it ’ s interesting to watch ,” Tapia said .
Tapia left behind a career in chemical engineering to follow his passions in food services , starting as a dishwasher on a Norwegian cruise liner and quickly moving up . He then graduated from culinary school at both Johnson and Wales , as well as Del Mar College , and worked for Sodexo food services on offshore drilling ships before moving to hospitals in Austin . He later found his way to serving up healthy meals in school districts , where he has remained for the past 15 years .
8 | HUNTSVILLE LIVING | JULY-AUGUST 2021