Welcome Back to School

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL

The kitchen is open! Chef Andy has started the year of with many tasty and nutritious meals. We have some new faces in the kitchen this year and they are dedicated to making the lunch program a success. Our new Sous Chef, Joe Clow, comes from Steps with many years of culinary experience. Our Cook, Kerri Starr, is wrangling those high energy Elementary students and doing a fabulous job. Joe Gamez is the Assistant Cook, and is a great asset at the High School. Returning to the scene is Deb Bachelder our Utility Worker and moral booster, Liz Varvaro, Kitchen Supervisor, and Chef Andy Radzialowski, Executive Chef and mentor. In addition to these new faces are some hard-working and dedicated students. SJISD is excited to present to you the next phase of our program.   

This year will be a continuing effort to sustainably feed our students and staff. We are pioneering a program that focuses on health, regional sustainability, education and fiscal responsibility. We will be offering nutrient rich whole foods on the salad bar, home made bread, baked goods and sauces. We are eliminating high fructose corn syrup, fillers, partially hydrogenated oils, hormones and dyes.

The ongoing effort to promote local foods in the lunch program has increased this year. We are working with local farmers to provide delicious, island grown and regional items. We support our local economy by using local vendors from San Juan Islands, Mount Vernon and Skagit Valley. We are proud to provide the following from our local farms:

We are pleased to use our local vendors in supplying our dry goods and non-food items. A big “THANK YOU” to Gerard at Island Paper and Tom Ashcraft at Heuristic Enterprises for our produce, chicken and dairy.

At the High School

We have introduced a new class this year. ‘CHEF 1.0’ gives an opportunity for students to work side by side with Chef Andy. They are in the kitchen helping prepare and plan for meals. This is a wonderful pre-apprenticeship program that gives students valuable work experience in a field they are interested in. We also host 4 students a day from The Culinary Arts class. They have a chance to work in a high volume, fast paced kitchen. Students also use us as a resource for their community projects in relation to food policy, waste management and ecological footprints.

At the Elementary

The most important factor in changing the way our children view food, it to educate them while they are young. The sixth graders are enthusiastic and eager to help. They do a fantastic job serving and cleaning up. We are working to expand into the classroom with some exciting projects centered around food.

Accessing Student Accounts

Did you know you can access your student’s Food Service Balance? On the school website www.sjisd.wednet.edu click on the ‘Parents’ tab at the top. Click on Family and Student Access, then click on ‘Food Service’ to check activity. You may opt in for e-mail notification for when the balance is below $0 by clicking on the ‘email notification’ link. Please pay ahead on your student’s lunch account.

Thank you for finding value in providing every student access to delicious and healthy food. Breakfast is a great way to energize a student for a day of learning. You may have questions, concerns, suggestions or my favorite, compliments for the chef. Please direct those through the proper channels by emailing the kitchen at lvarvaro@sjisd.wednet.edu