KENMORE, N.Y. (WIVB) — Cooks from the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District are back in the kitchen testing out new recipes to serve in the school cafeterias.
“We’re excited to greet the students when they come back and we want to help them be nourished with healthy good choices so that they’re ready to learn,” said Kim Roll, the food service director at Ken-Ton Schools. “That’s our goal every day is to help them feel healthy, strong, and be nourished with delicious good food so that they go in front of their teachers and they’re ready to learn.”
Kim Roll has been at the district for 25 years. The culinary camp began 24 years ago after Roll noticed there wasn’t an option for a salad on the elementary school menu. Now, every year, the camp inspires new recipes.
“Every year we try to improve our program, reach the needs of our students in whatever capacity that is, whether it is specialty meals or making sure our students with allergies that we’re aware of them and that we’re conscious of serving them and that we have alternate choices for them,” said Roll.
The district has a “Farm-to-School” program that connects produce from local farms to students in the classroom. They offer samples of new food items every month to help expose them to a variety of food options.
“We first look at what’s local, what’s a recipe we could build out from there that’s feasible to do for an entire cafeteria tasting but also that can be prepared down to an individual classroom lesson or community event,” said Nicole Zugelder, their Farm to School coordinator.
During the camp they created dishes with vegetables from local farms, they also made meatloaf, meat and vegetable lasagnas, rasta pasta and more.
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Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.
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