This is no April Fool’s joke. I am rebooting the School Meals That Rock blog – starting with my spring visits to school districts around the country. I may throw in a few other school food-related topics as 2017 moves along. If you have an idea you’d like me to cover, just post a reply below and I promise to respond as soon as possible.

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Supper programs are one of the newest USDA Child Nutrition programs – and they sometimes do not get the same level of coverage as the more familiar breakfast and lunch programs. They are, however, critically important to the at-risk children that receive them. If they did not have a supper meal at school, this students might very well eat snack foods from a corner store, a fast food dinner, or – in the worst-case scenario – no supper at all.

On March 16, I had the privilege of seeing hundreds of hungry children enjoy the fuel they needed for afterschool homework and other enrichment activities. Los Angeles Unified School District Food Services Division (LAUSD) has rolled out a hot supper service in over 100 schools with more in the works, including Belvedere Elementary. Located in East Los Angeles, Belvedere has wide airy hallways decorated with murals and a staff dedicated to providing students what they need to become: Thinkers. Leaders. Changemakers. Every one that I met – the assistant principal, the school foodservice staff, the afterschool teachers, parents and children – was enthusiastic about the hot supper meals. Since beginning the hot options, supper participation has more than doubled and waste has decreased markedly.

LAUSD uses a variety of packaged hot items, along with milk, fresh fruit and veggies, which are easily delivered by carts at several sites in the hallways and outside eating area. All the hot and cold supper items meet LAUSD’s strict nutrition guidelines and are popular with their customers. It was such a pleasure to see LAUSD’s hot supper program in operation at Belvedere Elementary. I was impressed by the efficiency of the school nutrition staff in serving hundreds of hungry children – giving them plenty of time to enjoy their meals while chatting with friends and family members. This program is working because of the commitment by the entire school community to insuring that at-risk students received the nourishment they needed for the afternoon and evening. With LAUSD’s dedication to the highest quality food options, Belvedere’s food services team was clearly feeding bodies and fueling minds with smiles on their faces.

My sincerest thanks to Ivy Marx, LAUSD Senior Nutrition Specialist, and Rocendo Gonzalez, Belvedere Cafeteria Manager, for hosting my visit to Belvedere – and for nourishing children well at school. Next time I visit LAUSD, I would love to meet Joseph Vaughn, the new Director of Food Services, so that I could thank him personally for this innovative and successful hot supper program.