Latest / Inside the OSD / S1 E1 - What’s For Lunch? Feat. Sarah Tomasiewicz

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S1 E1 - What’s For Lunch? Feat. Sarah Tomasiewicz · Inside the OSD

• 0:03
  SPEAKER1: Welcome to Inside the OSD.
• 0:06
  I'm Dr. Leslie Bergstrom, and I'll be hosting this podcast.
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  We know that you're busy and that we all have information overload.
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  We also know that there is nothing more important than our kids and that you want to know what's going on in our schools.
• 0:19
  This podcast is an attempt to offer another way to share information that allows us to go more in-depth than an email or a website announcement.
• 0:29
  It is designed for you to be able to listen on your time, maybe while you're at the gym, driving home from work or out walking the dog or any time that's really
• 0:38
  convenient for you.
• 0:39
  Our purpose is to educate and inform our listeners about timely topics and have a little fun doing it.
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  We hope to give you an inside look at what life is like in our schools, and that is going to be fun because it's all about our kids.
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  For this first episode, we're going to talk about something that is near and dear to our students lunch.
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  I'm not sure about you, but school nutrition and lunch programs have come a long way since I was in school.
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  In fact, today, our school nutrition team is hosting a special around the World Day and are offering our students the opportunity to experience taste from
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  Cameroon.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids.
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  Here is your host, lifelong educator, and our superintendent, Dr.
• 1:27
  Leslie Bergstrom.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER1: Here with me today is our OSD school nutrition director Sarah Tomasiewicz to tell us a little bit more.
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  Hello, Sarah, and welcome.
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  Thank you for joining us today.
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  And I think it's really fitting that you're our first guest on Inside The OSD because you work with our kids every day on something that is so important to
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  them, and that is their lunch and sometimes their breakfast, too.
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  Before we begin, could you introduce yourself a little bit to our listeners and tell us about your background in school nutrition?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER3: Well, thank you so much for having me on this show.
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  It's a very exciting opportunity.
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  This is my fourth school year here at OSD.
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  I studied nutrition.
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  And during my opportunity in school, I learned that school nutrition was really my favorite part of nutrition because I get to work with the kids and help
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  educate them on healthy lifestyles and how to build healthy meals so that they can be successful in their lives.
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  So I have loved my opportunity working here at OSD and being able to help build the menus.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER1: That's wonderful. Our food is a really central part to the school experience here, and I love that we're starting to think of the cafeteria as another
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  classroom because you have introduced something called a Round the World Day, and I'm really excited about that program.
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  Today's menu has recipes from Cameroon.
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  So can you tell us a little bit more about this program and why you decided to do it?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah, So this is our third around the World Day.
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  Traveling to Cameroon today.
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  And it has been an amazing way for the kids to experience different cultures.
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  And what's different kids eat around the world.
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  And bringing it right into our cafeterias here.
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  So as part of Cameroon Day, we are eating Katikati chicken, which is a grilled chicken with seasonings that probably our kids are not accustomed to
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  eating on their grilled chicken.
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  So there's lots of different flavors.
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  And our side dish is jollof rice, which is a tomato based rice, and it has peas and carrots in it as well.
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  So it's a very colorful and very flavorful.
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  Around the World Day has been very fun for the kids so far.
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  We've traveled from India to Norway and now to Cameroon.
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  And next month we are heading to China to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
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  So it's it's been quite an adventure so far this year.
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  SPEAKER1: Oh, I bet. What have the kid's been telling you so far?
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  What's been their feedback?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. So lots of excitement around these days.
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  They know that it's coming so that they know school food is going to look a little different to them on that day.
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  There are some nervous students, but they're all willing to try it, which is very exciting to see.
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  Some of the kids have had these foods at home, either because it's cultural food that is in their family or because of adventures they've gone on, or
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  maybe even just to a restaurant where they've seen it.
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  So it's nice to see the feedback from the kids who have tried it before and also those who this is the first time that they've seen these foods on their
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  plate.
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  SPEAKER1: Well, I love that the students are being a little adventurous with their food.
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  And I also love the opportunity that there is so much opportunity to teach them about the world through food, why things are grown,
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  where they are grown, why certain dishes are popular, why spices occur in one part of the world, but are rarely seen in another.
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  I think all of those things are great learning opportunities for them.
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  So with your introduction of this program, I think there's even more we can do in our our English classes, our art classes, our science classes, our music
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  classes. There's lots of ways to help students better understand the world, and food is one of them.
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  So when I think about what school lunch was like when I was a child, things have changed a lot, and I'm sure you've experienced that change too.
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  Can you talk to us a little bit about how school food has changed?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. So I also when I think back to when I was a kid, the food has changed a lot now.
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  Some of the items that we see are similar.
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  We still have chicken nuggets and mini corn dogs, but really the content of the food has changed.
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  So there has been a very large pull to to really make the food that the kids are being served much healthier.
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  So the ingredients in these items are are much better than food that we had had even ten, 20 years ago.
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  And another thing is just to add more flavor.
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  So the kids are seeing flavors and their food that they maybe haven't seen before at home, which is an exciting way for us to make the food taste better
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  but not alter the healthy components of it.
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  SPEAKER1: Oh, that's that's really great.
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  I'm so happy to see the changes.
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  And I know our parents are too, because many of them have said that they're excited to be able to let their children peruse the monthly menu and make
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  selections because.
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  They feel really good that the food will be healthy and tasty.
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  SPEAKER4: So I had the spicy corn, the rice and apples and also the chicken, the kati kati.
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  Have you ever tried kati kati before?
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  No. Tell me about it.
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  Oh. Oh.
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  Pretty good. I liked it plain.
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  I tried it a
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  little bit with ranch.
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  And the ranch just kind of sort of took the flavor
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  away a little bit.
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  It's chicken with like a little bit of spice in it.
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  And then I loved this corn was it was not spicy without this red stuff, but it was spicy.
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  And then. This rice was good.
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  I think the tenderness was perfect.
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  It was very moist and amazing.
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  It was really good because, like, it's because, like, we don't normally have, like, cultural food coming in from this on the lunch menu.
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  So I think it tasted amazing.
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  And it was it was a good cultural experience.
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  SPEAKER1: So when I think about what else, we'd like our listeners to know, the first thing that comes to mind for me is that you always have openings on your school
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  nutrition team and you're always looking for more people to join your team.
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  It's a great one and we're all very grateful for it.
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  What else would you like our listeners to know?
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  SPEAKER3: Well, to piggyback on that, our team is amazing.
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  I am so thankful for each and every one of our cooks.
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  They create delicious menus every day for our kids, and they always do it with a smile on their face.
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  And they have fun both in the kitchen and working with the kids.
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  So I am just so grateful for all of them and their help in making the food delicious here.
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  And also, I just want to thank the kids and the parents for joining us and supporting our program through all of the many changes in the last few years due
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  to the odd times we've had.
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  But really, the support of the kids and their parents has meant a lot to us.
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  And we're so thankful for all, all of our eaters who join us.
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  SPEAKER1: That's wonderful. Thank you.
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  I really appreciate you joining me for this episode of Inside The OSD, where it's all about the kids.
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  Thank you. And for our listeners.
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  We'll see you next time.