Doña Ana Elementary’s Dedicated Lunch Team Embraces Healthier School Lunches
Julia Hettiger
New Mexico is one of eight states to recently pass Universal School Meal legislation that ensures all children will be provided with school meals free of charge. New Mexico’s legislation is unique in that it also seeks to improve the quality of school meals, including requirements to increase scratch cooking, local sourcing, cultural relevance, and student and family input in shaping menus and recipes. La Semilla’s Edible Education Program has been working closely with local school districts in Southern New Mexico to identify, support, and amplify the ways school food and nutrition staff are cultivating the power and potential of this moment. This feature highlights the efforts of one school’s team.
As New Mexico continues to initiate its Universal Healthy School Meals legislation, Doña Ana Elementary’s school lunch team is working hard to meet the highest of standards for their students. The team of six – including director Jordan Rodriguez, Isela Contreras, Leticia Chavarria, Maria Valdez, Megan Moberly, and Christina Rey – arrives to work early every day to prepare healthy and delicious breakfasts, lunches, and afternoon snacks for the children.
“Our work in the kitchen is important,” kitchen assistant Leticia Chavarria said. Chavarria has worked in school cafeterias for 17 years and is excited for the push for healthier meals. “Homemade food is always better for nutrition. I like to include fresh fruit and vegetables and to see the happy faces of the kids when they get to try something new.”
Doña Ana Elementary’s School Lunch Team
Doing It for the Children
While each of the team members brings something unique to the table, they all agree that the best part of their jobs is the children. Christina Rey, who works as a kitchen assistant at the school, says it’s hard to choose a favorite recipe when the students get excited about them all.
“It’s like everything we cook, the kids are all excited,” Rey said. “We put it on the board, and we do a sample plate. So, I really don’t have a favorite recipe, because I see all the kids’ reactions … then they tell you, ‘You’re the best cook.’”
Competition Participants Explore New Recipes
Jordan Rodriguez, kitchen services director with Doña Ana Elementary, also participated in La Semilla’s Cultivo Colectivo Paso del Norte Edible Education Conference new recipe competition. Incorporating the corn nixtamalization process and the core tenets of New Mexico’s Universal Healthy Meals legislation, Rodriguez and her colleague Isela Contreras created a new recipe for rancheras stew, which incorporated the required nixtamalized corn and the core tenets of the competition, and cowboy cornbread.
“At first, I was really scared but then I got excited to work on the recipe,” Rodriguez said. “I’m pretty new [at Doña Ana Elementary] — I just started in October — so it was a nice experience to work with other schools close by.”
When creating the recipe, Rodriguez and Contreras worked to incorporate as many vegetables as possible.
“We did the ranchera stew with the corn, and then we added the radishes, the kale, the turnip, the carrots, the shiitake mushrooms, the oyster mushrooms, and the spinach and the Swiss chard,” Rodriguez said. “We tried to throw as much in there. And then we also made cornbread, cowboy cornbread bites. So with that one, we threw in cilantro in there, cheese, and the corn gave it a nice texture. The cilantro added a little sweetness to it.”
While Rodriguez had never made nixtamalized corn before, Contreras was able to utilize the nixtamalization skills she learned from her grandmother and aunt.
“It was hard at first trying to figure it out, but once I got it, it felt good. I liked working with the corn because I got to work with my hands. I’m a baker, so I work a lot with bread, and I love it. I loved the smell and rubbing it with my hands and seeing it come out this way, traditionally, like I had visited my grandmother.”
While Rodriguez and Contreras didn’t win the competition, they both enjoyed the experience and the familiarity of their cultures it brought with it.
New Recipes for a Brighter Future
Of all the delicious recipes the team makes, they unanimously agree that the children’s favorite is pozole, and they’re excited about healthier meal options.
“It’s nice seeing how the kids enjoy [new recipes] right away,” Rodriguez said. “You get to see how they react. They get super excited with new food.”