BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — For many Kern County families, Wednesday, August 16 was the first day of school, and in a day of firsts, the newest school in the Greenfield Unified School District, Crescent Elementary, there's one more first: A brand new, state-of-the-art cafeteria kitchen.
Joshua Rogers, who is the director of nutrition services for GUSD, talked about the work school cafeteria staff puts into serving students a healthy meal.
"Our department, we work very hard to produce great food here for the kids, so it's trying to make a change in what we're doing," said Rogers. "The old stereotype is 'School food is gross,' so we tested recipes over the summer, cooking, trainings with staff for a week."
According to Rogers, GSUD Nutrition Services has developed new recipes from scratch, including turkey posole, spaghetti, and homemade gravy.
"We do all types of great food for the students that they enjoy," said Rogers.
While the new kitchen will benefit students at Crescent Elementary, one new thing that will be benefitting families all over California is the Universal Meals Program for students which will afford all California public school students free lunches. The program was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021. The program also helped fund the kitchen upgrades at Crescent Elementary and other public schools in the state.
