Farm to school lunch trays at Lake Travis ISD thanks to Central TX Food Bank
Central Texas Food Bank helps Lake Travis ISD
Lake Travis ISD is offering colorful options to your kid's school lunch tray thanks to the help of Central Texas Food Bank's Food Hub Program. FOX 7 Austin education reporter Jessica Rivera has the details.
LAKE TRAVIS, Texas - Lake Travis ISD is offering colorful options to your kid's school lunch tray thanks to the help of Central Texas Food Bank's Food Hub Program.
What they're saying:
"We received a federal grant from USDA called Local Food for Schools. And with that money, we're able to purchase minimally processed whole fruits and vegetables locally," says Lake Travis ISD dietician and marketing coordinator Marissa Bell.
"We partnered with the Central Texas Food Bank to do just that and try to source things from central Texas. So, our central Texas farmers are feeding our central Texas schools," says Bell.
The backstory:
The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Grant helps school districts like Lake Travis source local produce from Texas.
The kids are able to walk through the cafeteria line and pick the fresh produce.
"We have signage throughout our cafeterias that explains where all of our local products are coming from. We highlight where it's coming from in Texas, the city and how many miles it's coming from our school district," says Bell.
The Central Texas Food Bank is able to provide students healthy produce, lean protein, and dairy items.
"We provide the transportation, we provide the delivery, we provide the storage. So, it's a one stop shop. So, it's as easy as schools letting us know what they want. We fulfill the order; we pick it up and we deliver it to them," says Central Texas Food Bank CEO Sari Vatske.
The school district says since this partnership they've seen a positive impact in the schools.
"We're able to really increase the scratch cooking in our schools. We're even seeing that we're reducing allergens on the menu. We're able to bring in less highly processed foods. And so, we've been able to expand the options on our menu for some of these students," says Bell.
What's next:
The Central Texas Food Bank says it hopes to expand the food hub model to include institutional buyers like hospitals, nonprofits, and colleges.
The Source: Information from interviews with Lake Travis ISD dietician and marketing coordinator Marissa Bell and Central Texas Food Bank CEO Sari Vatske conducted by FOX 7 Austin reporter Jessica Rivera.