Transforming School Lunches: Strategies for Success

Description

Learning Objectives

• Evaluate and compare methods for local food procurement in school meal programs.
• Identify at least two strategies for developing recipes and menus that support large-scale scratch cooking initiatives.
• Implement effective approaches to engage students in school meal programs, measuring their success based on increases in participation rates and satisfaction levels.

Performance Indicators

• 13.2.1 Adheres to and communicates relevant regulations, dietary guidelines, and organizational policies in menu development and implementation.
• 12.3.1 Designs programs, interventions, or initiatives based on assessment and surveillance data and evidence-based literature.
• 14.1.2 Develops and applies criteria to measure and monitor productivity in order to support safe, ethical, and efficient services delivery.

Speakers

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  Travertine Garcia

  Manager, Nutrition Programming & Compliance, DC Central Kitchen

  Travertine is the Manager of Nutrition Programming & Compliance at DC Central Kitchen where she primarily oversees menu development, student engagement, and nutrition compliance for the Healthy School Foods Program, serving 12,000 meals/day to 30 K-12 schools in Washington, DC. She has several years of experience planning, implementing, and evaluating innovative programs focused on advancing public health, sustainability, and social equity in the food system. In addition to her current position at DC Central Kitchen, her portfolio includes work with the Eastern Market Partnership and Community Health and Social Services Center (CHASS) in Detroit, the Michigan Farm to Institution Network, Community Food Strategies, the San Antonio Food Bank, the Prince George's County Maryland Food Equity Council, and DC Bilingual Public Charter School. Travertine earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Food & Exercise from Virginia Tech and Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan. She completed her dietetic internship through Virginia Tech - Northern Virginia, where she trained primarily with DC Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services and the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV.

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  Sami Reilly

  Director, Contract Meals and Nutrition, DC Central Kitchen

  Sami Reilly serves as Director of Contract Meals and Nutrition overseeing DC Central Kitchen’s Healthy School Food program, as well as our community meals and nutrition education programming. Under her stewardship, DCCK provides more than 12,000 scratch-cooked, farm-to-table meals within USDA and HSA guidelines to 30 schools each day, and an additional 5,000 to Community Meal Programs across the city. A registered dietitian with degrees from the University of Delaware, Sami joined the Kitchen in 2021 after three years in the Montgomery County Public School system where she had oversight of the day-to-day operations and meal service at 30 school sites. Sami dedicates a portion of her time outside of the Kitchen to teaching culinary and nutrition classes for the Arlington Public Schools Adult Learning Program.

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  Jackie Wincek

  Procurement & Sustainability Manager, DC Central Kitchen

  Jackie Wincek works as the Procurement & Sustainability Manager for DC Central Kitchen, a hunger and social empowerment non-profit. Jackie helps balance all incoming donations with purchased product for meals to be distributed to the community. The department runs DCCK’s gleaning program which partners with local farms during the harvest months, and sustainability projects including food waste tracking using Leanpath technology, expansive local sourcing efforts, and a PPE recycling program. She served as an AmeriCorps volunteer before transitioning to the private sector to work in operations and supply chain management. Jackie’s passion for improving the food system and reducing waste led her to join DC Central Kitchen in early 2019.

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Moderator

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  Elizabeth Reeves

  District of Columbia Public Schools, Specialist, Nutrition, Compliance, and Partnerships

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