The Yuma Union High School District was selected by the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) for a special culinary training on Wednesday, July 16. The face-to-face training was held at Gila Ridge High School with a "Menus of Flavor: Latin American Theme."
According to a YUHSD release, student nutrition staff from all district schools participated in the hands-on training, focusing on scratch cooking techniques, knife skills, food safety and the preparation and presentation of 12 new Latin American-inspired recipes. Chef Joseph Randall led the training.
“It is an honor to be selected by the Institute and to have Chef Randall working with our team,” YUHSD Student Nutrition Executive Director Elena Hildreth said. “This training supports our goal of bringing scratch cooking into our schools.”
ICN is part of the School of Applied Sciences at The University of Mississippi. It's the only federally-funded national center dedicated to applied research, education and training, and technical assistance for child nutrition programs. Per YUHSD, only a select number of school districts nationwide are chosen for the opportunity each year.
“It’s great to see how excited the district’s student nutrition team is to learn and bring scratch cooking to their students,” Chef Randall said. “Getting back to scratch cooking in the kitchen at our schools is beneficial for students’ health.”
The ICN’s Menus of Flavor program is designed to support school nutrition professionals in creating culturally inspired meals that are both delicious and aligned with USDA school meal requirements.
The Latin American flavors training includes teaching staff about the common ingredients found in Latin American cuisine as well as ways to incorporate them into school menus. A few examples from the training manual:
- Using in-season tropical fruits as the fruit component of the meal.
- Using fresh lime, herbs and spice mixes to add flavor without adding extra sodium or calories from saturated fats.
- Offering fresh fish more often, either in a taco or topped with pico de gallo.
- Switching things up by serving whole corn tortillas instead of flour for a whole grain option.
Now that nutrition staff from all YUHSD schools have been trained on scratch cooking using Latin American flavors, students might want to keep an eye out for new or improved options on the menu.
This reporting is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
