As the Zachary Community Schools Supervisor of Child Nutrition Program, my goal is to always promote healthy choices in our school district and to become one of the top Child Nutrition Programs in the state.  On a daily basis, we offer a variety of fresh fruit and vegetable options that accompany the entrée. This year, we have added fruit parfaits and entrée salads that are offered at Copper Mill Elementary, Northwestern Middle School, and Zachary High School.  These are offered to students for $2.50 each, to all district staff for $4.50 each, and to all visitors/parents for $5.00 each. This effort began on January 10th. We will continue to offer these options every other week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays, depending on the school.

We were recently awarded the Local Food for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Purchasing grant.  This grant allows the district to purchase food from local and regional farmers/producers, targeting small businesses in our region. The goal is to give school food authorities the opportunity to procure local, domestic foods that are unique to their geographic area and meet the needs of their schools. In addition to increasing local food consumption, funds are expected to help build and expand economic opportunities for smaller local farmers and/or producers. This grant seeks to provide the Louisiana Department of Agriculture (LDAF), in collaboration with the LSU Ag Center, an opportunity to strengthen the local and regional food system. It will also support local farmers/producers and school districts by expanding economic opportunities, ultimately establishing and broadening partnerships for fresh and nutritious foods in schools.  As a result of this, grass-fed beef was purchased from the family-owned Muse 3 Farms in Greensburg, LA, and will be served in all school cafeterias.  Muse 3 Farms is a vendor that was provided by the LSU Ag Center to supply our schools through the grant awarded.

Bianca Coats, MPA, RD, LDN