Feeding the Future 2024

January 27, 2024

 
 

The menus below have been created by teams of high school, middle school and elementary school students, school mentors and Blue Watermelon mentor Chefs. Each team spent months testing recipes to create a school meal tray that adheres to both the nutritional and budgetary restrictions of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. We hope these recipes will be used by schools in Arizona and beyond as we work toward a #bettertrayeveryday.

Three high school student teams will be selected by a panel of judges to receive up to $10,000 (first place), $5,000 (second place) and $2,500 (third place) educational scholarships from the Blue Watermelon Project today. Middle and Elementary School Teams will also compete for prices that advance their culinary or school garden mission.

High School Student Teams

  • Served with roasted cauliflower, a fresh fruit cup, and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible National School Lunch Program Tray.

    Prepared by Queen Creek High School Student Madison Newman

    Support for team Queen Creek High School includes school mentor Lewis Brown and BWP Chef Charleen Badman

  • Served with Cowboy Mix, Desert Sunset Fruit Bowl, and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible National School Lunch Program Tray.

    Prepared by Perry High School’s Vinicius Santos Oliveira and Joshua Day

    Support for Perry High School Team includes school mentor Angela Stutz and BWP Chef Tamara Stanger

  • Served with Broccoli Salad, Citrus Bowl, and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible National School Lunch Program Tray.

    Prepared by Perry High School’s Charlie Tugade

    Support for Perry High School Team includes school mentor Angela Stutz and BWP Chef Tamara Stanger

  • Served with an Asian-inspired Coleslaw, Spicy Honey Glazed Fruit, and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible National School Lunch Program Tray.

    Prepared by Basha High School’s Megan Ingraham

    Support for Basha High School Team includes school mentor Megan Harfield and BWP Chef Doug Robson

  • Served with a Modified Cowboy Caviar, a Toasted Cinnamon Sugar Strawberry cup, and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible National School Lunch Program Tray.

    Prepared by Basha High School’s Avery Conrad and Liam Hamilton

    Support for Basha High School Team includes school mentor Megan Harfield and BWP Chef Doug Robson

  • Served with Bharwan’s Broccoli, Kela’s Kustard, and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible National School Lunch Program Tray.

    Prepared by Casteele High’s School’s Megan Luchsinger

    Support for Casteele High School Team #1 includes school mentor Chad Faria and BWP Chef Doug Robson

  • Served with Fiesta Fritas, Pina Picante Paradise (pineapple) and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible National School Lunch Program Tray.

    Prepared by Casteele High School’s Braxton Cederstrom, Anthony Coulbourne

    Support for Casteele High School Team #2 includes school mentor Chad Faria and BWP Chef Doug Robson

Middle School Student Teams

  • Served with fresh apple slices, orange juice and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible School Breakfast Tray.

    Prepared byTillman Middle School’s Mia Hernandez, Christopher Jimenez, and Christian Correa

    Support for Tillman Middle School includes school mentor Anita Aparicia and BWP Chef Tracy Dempsey

  • Served with fresh Arizona oranges and Arizona milk to complement the entree making this a credible School Breakfast Tray.

    Prepared by Emerson Elementary School’s Liam McDowell, Nesta Vega, Miguel Rodriguez Ortiz

    Support for Emerson Elementary School includes school mentor Adam Lovelady and BWP Chef Charleen Badman

Elementary School Student Team

  • Served as a complement to any National School Lunch or School Breakfast Tray.

    Prepared by Concordia’s Miguel Angel Aguilar Franco, Matias Johnson, and Leah Gopal

    Support for Concordia Team #1 includes school mentor Iris Tirado and BWP Chef Elizabeth Meiz

  • Served as a complement to any National School Lunch or School Breakfast Tray.

    Prepared by Concordia’s Collin Strode, Blaine Fugate, and Neiel Vazquez Bernal

    Support for Concordia Team #2 includes school mentor Iris Tirado and BWP Chef Elizabeth Meiz

  • Served after school as part of the After School Snack Program.

    Prepared by Crockett Elementary School’s Mariko Muyisha, Asia Adrier, and Ali Hassan

    Support for Crockett Elementary School includes school mentor Anita Aparicia and BWP Chef Tracy Dempsey

  • Served as a complement to any National School Lunch or School Breakfast Tray.

    Prepared by ASU Prep’s Julian Apodaca, Carson Custer, Elijah Vann, Emilia Sandoval, Evelyn Rivas Mejia, Emily Vitucci

    Support for Concordia Team #2 includes school mentor Paul Raia and BWP Chef Chef Sasha Raj and Trevor Routman

Featured Chef in the Garden Bites

  • In September, Chef in the Garden featured fresh mint in Chef Matt Pratta’s recipe for Moroccan spiced Cous Cous with fresh mint, parsley, dried fruits, and seeds.

  • In October, Chef in the Garden featured watermelon radishes in Chef Shannon Reina’s Milin (watermelon) Radish Pico made with cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime!

Meet the Judging Panel

Elizabeth Allen

Director of Food Services and Wellness Coordination at Palominas School District in Southern Arizona

Elizabeth has worked within the food industry for nearly 20 years, but it was her three kids that really ignited the spark of passion for nutrition education. Elizabeth loves being able to provide life long healthy habits so that students can have their best future. She believes that kids today are tomorrow's future. 

Palominas School District has received recent attention and accolades for their school lunch program from the Arizona Department of Education (Department) and their Farm Fresh Challenge for local food purchasing and food education efforts. The District is also one of ten, participating in the Department's Creating Your Kitchen Program, a collaborative launched in 2021 to support increased scratch cooking in school meals with support from the Chef Ann Foundation and Life Time Foundation. 

When asked about her favorite school food memory, Elizabeth said "One of my favorites was the first time we hosted a "Farm Fresh Friday." We served our Tomato Eggplant Bake. That recipe really hit all five senses. The students said it smelled like Thanksgiving, it tasted amazing, and the room was filled with excitement and wonder. I am taken back to that day every time it is served."

Chef Matt Pratta

Culinary Director of Sprouts Farmers Market. @sprouts @sproutsfnd

Earlier this school year, Chef Matt prepared September’s Chef in the Garden recipe, featuring a spiced cous cous with mint from @mayasfarm! 

Chef Pratta was trained at Johnson & Wales University where he earned an associate degree in culinary arts and a bachelors in culinary nutrition. Following a professional internship in Spain where he honed his craft in Michelin starred restaurants he went on to use his training in the retail environment acting as a product developer for both Kroger and now as corporate chef for Sprouts.

When asked about his favorite school food memory, he said "I ate school lunch everyday as a [kid]. In Maryland, I had the luxury of enjoying the 'octangal' creation known as the Mexican Pizza." Matt is eager to support school food professionals in their journey to serving tasty and healthy school meals! 

Bob McClendon

Farmer & Owner of McClendon's Select @mcclendonsselect

Bob is a retired Pharmacist that has always had large vegetable gardens throughout his life. He describes that the hobby of vegetable gardening was a huge learning experience about growing in Arizona's hot desert environment. He and son Sean McClendon now farm 25 acres of Citrus in Peoria and 68 acres of vegetables in Goodyear for a total of 93 acres. Together, they grow and supply more than 80 restaurants in Arizona and support two large Farmers' Markets every Saturday. 

He describes that Blue Watermelon Project is a very important educational opportunity for children of all ages.  McClendon's Select has supported their efforts whenever possible, to help offset the costs of fresh fruits and vegetables used in their educational programs. Bob has also played an important role in helping to source from other (largely Organic certified) Arizona and California farmers as needed. 

When asked about his favorite school food memory, Bob said, "I volunteered to work on the lunch food line so I could keep my twenty five cents daily allowance to use for other things. I don't remember having any fresh vegetables available on the food line. As a result my Grandmother was a very good cook and taught me to eat a wide variety of vegetables!"

Chef Ann Cooper

Founder & President of Chef Ann Cooper Foundation. @chefannc @chefannfoundation

Chef Ann Cooper is a celebrated author, chef, educator and enduring advocate for better food for all children. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Ann has been a cook and/or chef for more than 50 years, over 25 of those in school food programs. She was formerly the director of nutrition services for the Boulder Valley School District. Known as the 'Renegade Lunch Lady', Ann has been honored by The National Resources Defense Council, selected as a Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow, and awarded an honorary doctorate from SUNY Cobleskill for her work on sustainable agriculture. In 2009, Ann founded the nonprofit Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) to focus on solutions to the school food crisis. CAF's pivotal project is The Lunch Box – a web portal that provides free and accessible tools, recipes and resources to support schools transitioning to scratch-cooked meals made with whole, healthy food. Ann is currently President of the Board of the Foundation and a partner in Lunch Lessons LLC a consultancy for school food.

When asked what her favorite school food memory was, Ann said, "At the very first school that I worked for (a private school in New York) the 3rd grade girls had a hunger strike because they hated the grilled cheese sandwiches. We met with them, let them bake bread with us, and had a cheese tasting. Next year as fourth graders, they told the 3rd graders that they 'fixed' all of the food." 

Katherine Miller

Author of At the Table: The Chef's Guide to Advocacy; trainer and strategist @table81

“[Katherine works] with advocacy groups, corporations, non-profit organizations, policy makers, and philanthropic funders around the world to make meaningful progress on some of the world's most intractable problems (ie. vaccinations, climate change, gender-based violence, democracy reform, food justice, hunger).

[Her] approach is grounded in data and evaluation. From there [she] build[s] strategies, plans, and budgets. [She] love[s] introducing leaders in different communities (scientists, artists, farmers, chefs) to the tools and techniques that turn them into [the] powerful spokespeople [that they are] and build[ing] people-centered solutions.

Most recently, [Katherine] spent several years as the James Beard Foundation's Vice President of Impact working with leaders in the food system to create new and innovative programs to help address gender equity, sustainability, food waste, and child nutrition." -table81.com

When asked about her favorite school food memory, Katherine said, "My childhood school was very regimented - taco Tuesday, fish Fridays, pizza once a month, sloppy joes on Thursday. Now, after seeing the work of Blue Watermelon and Feeding the Future I see what's really possible when it comes to delicious meals at school!"

Katherine also shared how excited she is about the growing momentum around universal school meals. She believes that every student, regardless of income or circumstance, should be able to count on school as a place for a delicious meal.

Special Thank You to Feeding the Future Contest Coordinator!

Sarah Martinelli, MS, RD, SNS

Sarah Martinelli is a professor at ASU in the College of Health Solutions. She is a registered dietitian whose focus is on food access through child nutrition programs like the National School Lunch Program.

A Special Thank You to all our Volunteers!

Call To Action

Become Informed.

Learn more about the school food industry by enjoying a meal at your nearest school kitchen, have a conversation with local school food professionals, or review school food professional organizations like the School Nutrition Association, USDA Food and Nutrition Service and the Institute for Child Nutrition.

Vote.

The school food industry operates within the boundaries of local, state and federal rules and regulations. School kitchens are most successful when they are staffed well, meet their budgetary restrictions and have access to quality foods that fit the nutritional guidelines set by Congress. Become informed and vote for Congressmen and Congresswomen that uplift quality policies that positively position school food professionals to serve up their best! Locally, attend school board meetings, local Wellness Policy Council meetings, and write to your local legislators.

Donate.

Donate your time or money to help school food professionals reach their goals in serving kids well. Reach out to your local School District and ask how you might help.