Taft Middle School
When Eat Wise began, we knew from seeing the daily lunches that little cooking was being done in school kitchens. What we did not realize is that NO cooking was occurring. None, Nada, Zilch. Reheating, warming and opening cans was the status quo.
Our energies moved to having kitchens cook again. We quickly found that staff was no longer trained to cook and many of the kitchens no longer had the proper equipment. Failing equipment, instead of being repaired, was simply discarded. Frozen and canned processed foods replaced fresh ingredients, styrofoam replaced trays and dishwashers.
The dream to pursue a better school food model came to us. We began looking for a school in the district to pilot an innovative approach to cooking school breakfast and lunch. Taft Middle School was chosen for many different reasons: the subsidized lunch rates being above 95%, the proximity to Eat Wise, the enthusiasm of Principal Lisa Johnson and the fact that Taft was slated to begin its MAPS project in 2011.
On October 4, 2010 Eat Wise OKC presented to the OKCPS Board, requesting to begin our pilot project in partnership with Child Nutrition Services. Permission was enthusiastically granted giving us the green light to move forward.
We are currently raising funds to support the MAPS project in constructing a state-of-the art kitchen and training kitchen staff to follow recipes made from fresh ingredients that children will enjoy, with a goal to optimize nutrition, teach healthy eating skills, and create a positive work environment.
Our energies moved to having kitchens cook again. We quickly found that staff was no longer trained to cook and many of the kitchens no longer had the proper equipment. Failing equipment, instead of being repaired, was simply discarded. Frozen and canned processed foods replaced fresh ingredients, styrofoam replaced trays and dishwashers.
The dream to pursue a better school food model came to us. We began looking for a school in the district to pilot an innovative approach to cooking school breakfast and lunch. Taft Middle School was chosen for many different reasons: the subsidized lunch rates being above 95%, the proximity to Eat Wise, the enthusiasm of Principal Lisa Johnson and the fact that Taft was slated to begin its MAPS project in 2011.
On October 4, 2010 Eat Wise OKC presented to the OKCPS Board, requesting to begin our pilot project in partnership with Child Nutrition Services. Permission was enthusiastically granted giving us the green light to move forward.
We are currently raising funds to support the MAPS project in constructing a state-of-the art kitchen and training kitchen staff to follow recipes made from fresh ingredients that children will enjoy, with a goal to optimize nutrition, teach healthy eating skills, and create a positive work environment.
