Aramark/Goose Creek CISD Nutrition Services staff (from left) Teofila Reyes(Chica), Raina Cardona, Chef Francheska Bland, Veronica Magana, Alma Rodriguez and Natalie Edwards accept the Best of Booth Award, getting out into the community at the recent Epicurean Evening event.
Nutrition Services employees (from left) Alma Chaverria and Blanca Maldonado prepare to hand out meals at Lamar Elementary.
Natalie Edwards, director of Nutrition Services for Goose Creek CISD, is always ready to coordinate efforts to make sure children are fed, even during a pandemic.
GCCISD Nutrition Services
By: Susan Passmore
Making sure students are fed is a way of life for Natalie Edwards, Goose Creek CISD Nutrition Services director. When Goose Creek CISD superintendent Dr. Randal O’Brien realized Friday, March 13, that students were not going back to school after spring break due to the COVID-19 situation, he asked Edwards when they could set up to provide grab & go meals, and she got the wheels rolling.
“We started with lunch Monday, March 16, and added breakfast the next day at 11 sites. Since then, we have had from 11-19 sites serving children 18 and under,” Edwards said.
From March 16-April 30, Edwards and her team, comprised of nearly 100 of the more than 300 Nutrition Services employees, have served 132,839 breakfasts and 135,467 lunches, providing a boost for many families who have experienced layoffs, furloughs or reduced hours. With 71 percent of the district’s students on the free or reduced lunch program, Goose Creek CISD knows there is a need for nutritious meals when school is not in session and works to make sure children do not go hungry.
Working during a pandemic means that employees fix the meals, package them and give them to families outside of the schools, while wearing gloves and masks. Employees are encouraged to put the bags containing the food on a table and let the parents pick them up. They also are required to stay apart in the kitchen while preparing the meals.
“People have been grateful to get the food,” Edwards said. “I watch some of little kids get excited about things that are in their bags. We try to give them a treat every day, such as chips, cookies or ice cream. Sometimes there are some small toys. We do whatever we can to make it fun.”
During the school year, Edwards manages all food programs, including child nutrition, catering and concessions at Stallworth Stadium. Registered dietician Kirsten Kruzenga helps create menus for the 28 schools and nearly 24,000 Goose Creek CISD students, making sure students with special dietary needs, such as food allergies, are accommodated. Each kitchen operates as an individual restaurant, with a manager and assistant manager placing food orders, counting inventory, working with monthly promotions and participating in campus activities.
Roshelle Stevenson handles marketing for Aramark/GCCISD Nutrition Services, and Chef Francheska Bland works with catering, creating food demonstrations, and encouraging students to enter the culinary profession by offering internships, field trips and competitions. Dina McCartney, Suellen Lambert and Michelle Ojeda supervise the school kitchens.
The grab and go meal distribution will continue through June 30 and will start back up again sometime in July.
“Natalie Edwards and her food service team are some of the most dedicated and caring staff members within the district,” said Dr. Anthony Price, deputy superintendent for administrative services. “Their focus is to ensure our students are fed each day, while providing a safe transference for all involved within the grab and go process. They truly are meeting the needs of the community.”