WE ARE FAMILY!

Food Service staff video made during the COVID 19 pandemic. 3/21/2021

Carmen Rivera pictured with Kevin Eberle, Chief Operations Office and Ellen Dunne, Principal of Riverside High School

As a Lead Cook, you see many students come through the cafeteria on a daily basis. When the school year starts, you begin to know students names and develop a friendly rapport.   This rapport allows students’ personalities to shine and you get to know them.  So when something is amiss you notice it immediately.  Carmen Rivera, a Lead Cook at Riverside, is that person who took the time to help a student, who seemed exceptionally troubled and because of the rapport established, felt safe to disclose his problems.  He shared with Carmen that he was homeless student, who was hungry, and distraught that he did not know how to break away from a gang.  She gave him a safe place, calmed him down, fed him, and was able to contact the proper individuals that would assist him so that he could truly be safe.  Many times students feel that they have nowhere to turn for help. Carmen gave him that secure place to unveil and for that we would like to acknowledge her as an advocate for a providing a student a safe haven.  

Eugenia Thomas pictured with Kevin Eberle, Chief Operation Officer and John Starkey, Principal of Lafayette High School

Your heart grips with fear as you feel your last breath squeezed out of your lungs. You open your mouth in hopes that a lifesaving breath will reach your lungs but something is holding it back.  Sheer panic is the only thing you feel, until arms engulf you in a big hug, a squeeze like never felt before, and suddenly you cough, air fills your lungs.  You sputter and cough and breathe freely again, turning to see who helped ease that moment of utter panic.  Eugenia Thomas, a Food Service Worker at Lafayette High School, noticed a student in just that state of panic.  She rushed over, performed the Heimlich Maneuver, and saved this students’ life.  We would like to acknowledge and praise the quick thinking and acting of Eugenia, because had it not been for her actions, this student may not have survived. 

BREAKFAST

Mornings can be really crazy…the alarm doesn’t go off…the kids don’t want to get up…there’s no time to eat breakfast before the bus comes…or they’re just not ready to eat. Or maybe your teenager grabs a can of soda and a candy bar on the way to school. If this sounds like your house, we have good news for you.

Breakfast is served at school! School breakfast will give your child a healthy start to the day.  A nutritious breakfast helps students be more alert so they can learn more in class. Breakfast has vitamins and nutrients for a strong and healthy body.

Breakfast at school is affordable, too. It is free to all students in our school district. You can’t find a healthy breakfast at such a low cost anywhere else.

Help your child start the day right with school breakfast!

For more information regarding the benefits of breakfast view this USDA web site:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/breakfast/expansion/benefitsbreakfast.pdf

SCHOOL NUTRITION ASSOCIATION Press Releases:

SNA Applauds President Obama’s Proposed $1 Billion Increase for Child Nutrition Programs 

Following the release of President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget, which includes a $1 billion increase for child nutrition programs, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) applauded the President and First Lady Michelle Obama for their commitment to strengthening the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program