National School Lunch Week was celebrated in schools throughout the District October 10-14. Teachers, administrators and staff members helped celebrate by being Cafeteria Champions and Dining Companions during lunchtime. Students were overjoyed to have their teacher or principal join them for lunch and excitedly shared what they like to eat and what their families cook at home.
“It is so fun having Ms. Vega eat lunch with us,” said Candy, a kindergartner at Cogswell School. “We are having spaghetti and salad and I hope she likes it.”
Following the week’s theme “Show Your Spirit” staff members showed their spirit for school lunches and encouraged the students to make good food choices.
“I see you all have salad and fruit on your plates,” said Cynthia Velasquez, 1st grade teacher. “It’s really important to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and it’s nice to see you all eating them today.”
Harry, a 1st grader in Velasquez’s class could hardly contain his excitement as he enjoyed his lunch with his teacher.
“This is the first time we got to eat lunch with our teacher,” he said with a giggle. “She said she likes spaghetti but makes it a little different for her kids at home. It’s really fun eating with her and I hope we can do it again,” he said.
At the table where students in Elsa Perini’s class gathered, the conversations ranged from favorite foods to Halloween costumes. The 1st graders squeezed in tight at the table and had so much fun eating with their teacher.
“We love Ms. Perini so much!” said Aquino. “She’s the best teacher ever and I’m so happy she’s having lunch with us.”
MVSD’s Food Service Department offers fresh fruit and salad bars at all school sites and serves school breakfast and lunch to over 6,000 students each day. MVSD’s National School Lunch Week event was coordinated by District Nutritionist, Geri Lorenzana, who passed out “Win with Nutrition – Eat School Lunch” pencils to the students and talked with them about the importance of good nutrition.
"Being a Cafeteria Champion was so fun! I helped with the salad bar and then sat with the students that I had in the past. I had students who were eating alone join our group and it was a blast," said Nora Eskew, 2nd grade teacher at La Primaria School.
Sponsored by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association, the “Show Your Spirit” campaign reminds parents, students and school officials that a healthy lunch helps students power through the day.
“This year’s theme, School Lunch: Show Your Spirit gave us an opportunity to highlight the choices we offer on our salad bar each day and emphasize the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, offering a wide variety of healthy snack samples,” said Susan Delgado, Director of Food Services. “Our principals and teachers shared terrific stories about the fun they had with their students during lunch. This was such a success, we're planning another event for National School Breakfast Week in March,” she added.