Healthy meals for healthy students

Feeding students healthy, nutritious food remains a top priority for the Carlsbad
Unified School District. When students have access to well-balanced meals, they come to class ready to learn, participate, and thrive. Across our schools, we strive to offer a diverse menu with a variety of appealing, wholesome choices. Building healthy eating habits now supports our students for the rest of their lives.

Carlsbad Unified recently welcomed Ms. Jeannie Samari as our new Director of Nutrition Services. She joins us from the Earlimart School District in the Central Valley, where she served as Director of Food Services for nine years. Her background is both broad and hands-on. She created menus for school lunches following state and federal guidelines, and based on what was available from local vendors. She oversaw all elements of the Nutrition Department, attended leadership workshops and trainings, and served on the district’s Extended Leadership Team. Her experience brings expertise and practicality to her new role.

Ms. Samari, along with her immediate administrative team, oversees every step of the meals we serve—from supporting staff, to preparing menus, to ordering ingredients and coordinating deliveries. When possible, we work with local farms, including Dassi Farms in Encinitas and Dickinson Farms in Fallbrook, to bring fresh, locally-sourced produce to our students.

“I appreciate the district’s commitment to serving healthy food options, including salad bars, fresh fruit and vegetables, and on-site ‘scratch cooking’ when possible,” said Ms. Samari. “In my first week, I visited all of the schools, and loved seeing the staff members’ passion and how excited they are about their jobs.”

Every day, Carlsbad Unified serves roughly 3,500 breakfasts and 4,500 lunches to hungry students. Each school has its own kitchen, and each nutrition team knows its students well—what they like, what they look forward to, and how to make sure every child who walks through the cafeteria line can choose something that looks delicious and is good to eat. All schools offer salad bars at least once a week or freshly made salad made daily. Many sites prepare fresh items such as breakfast sandwiches, baked scones, quesadillas, and spaghetti. At Sage Creek High School, students love the variety of salads available each day.

During a visit to the Pacific Rim
Elementary kitchen, Ms. Samari watched as young students filled their trays: little hands reaching for tongs to pick up carrots and celery sticks, a student carefully piling cherry tomatoes into one section of his tray, another requesting help reaching a banana, and a child happily announcing, “Yummy! I love cantaloupe!”

“Students have a very short brunch or lunch period, and we have to keep the food safe and the lines moving, so the kitchen staff works as a finely-tuned machine to serve the students,” she explained. “And we must be mindful of food allergies and reducing waste.”

With more choices than ever and a renewed emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, Carlsbad Unified continues to make mealtime a positive part of every student’s day. Our Nutrition Services staff work with care, creativity, and pride to nourish students—and to ensure that healthy food is both accessible and enjoyable.