CARLSBAD UNIFIED CONNECTIONS

Nikki Myrick, Nutrition Services Operations Supervisor

"Farm to School" in Carlsbad Unified

Students help themselves to a colorful and healthy salad bar, packed with vegetables and fruit, including bright purple dragon fruit and juicy watermelon. They select popcorn chicken, or mac and cheese, or PB&J. Then their little fingers punch numbers into a keypad and they are off to enjoy their food at the lunch tables. It’s a Back to School lunchtime at Hope Elementary School.

Nutrition Services Lead Kari Stensholt and Nutrition Services Assistant Karen Cabelli run the show in the kitchen at Hope. They work hard and have fun preparing meals for the students. School kitchens are furnished so that most food preparation happens on site. The team chops watermelon, makes sandwiches, cooks the entrees, and assembles student-sized portions.

Over 4,000 meals are served to students each day in Carlsbad Unified. Working with Director of Nutrition Services Michael Hyde, our talented Nutrition Services Operations Supervisor, Nikki Myrick, makes sure that those meals always come together for our hungry kids. She begins every day checking that each school kitchen is well-staffed, that all equipment is working, and that the schools have what they need to serve thousands of meals to children. She plans the menus, monitors stock, and orders the food for upcoming meals.

What does it look like behind the scenes? A large walk-in refrigerator is full of local fresh produce. “I have always had a goal to use locally-sourced items. With Mr. Hyde’s diligence, we are now able to shop for locally-sourced fruits and vegetables,” reports Mrs. Myrick. “The crates of strawberries, watermelons, cucumbers and dragon fruit are from farms in Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Fallbrook and Valley Center. Our students benefit from our own Farm to School initiative.” A giant and chilly walk-in freezer ensures that healthy food is ready to deliver when the schools need it. The warehouse stock of dry goods would rival those of Costco-–large containers of rolled oats and kidney beans and condiments (and more) are stacked on racks that reach the ceiling.

Mrs. Myrick has been working in Nutrition Services in Carlsbad Unified for eight years. She began her career in a restaurant in her hometown of Idyllwild when she was just 14 years old. Since then she has built a broad and impressive resume, attending the San Diego Culinary Institute and working in various restaurants and hospitals including Café Aroma, Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, Stone Brewery in Escondido, and Palomar Hospital. She has three children.

Mrs. Myrick loves to create new and tasty menu items. “Students always love an appealing salad bar. We plan on trying some of these new menu items this year: a delicious Tortellini salad, which is like a Caprese, as well as a Western burger and a Thai chili chicken.

Michael Hyde, who joined Carlsbad Unified ten months ago as Director, says “Mrs. Myrick is the best I have ever worked with.” Like Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Hyde attended culinary school and has extensive experience in kitchens and school districts’ nutrition services. “We both believe that there’s always room for improvement and culinary creativity. And we both love to watch children trying out something new and enjoying it.”

Nutrition Services has been feeding more students in recent years. A staff of about 50 employees prepare and serve food for our students. Secondary schools have five to nine food workers, and elementaries have two or three. Most of our leads have 20 years of experience, which helps our kitchens run smoothly.

And, importantly, our kitchens are always aware of students’ allergies, such as to gluten or dairy. So there are always allergy-free options.

“We try to provide lots of variety and expose students to healthy foods they might not have tried before,” said Hope Elementary’s Ms. Stensholt. (The dragon fruit bin was already empty.)

But what’s the most popular food served from our kitchens? You guessed it – pizza!

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We provide every student an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment. #cusdlearns

Email: cusd@carlsbadusd.net
Website: https://www.carlsbadusd.net
Location: 6225 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA, USA
Phone: 760-331-5000