April 2025 WaveCrest Cafe Newsletter
April 01st, 2025
In this issue:
• Introducing our new Charlie Cart – a state-of-the-art cooking cart for classrooms
• More taste tests at schools
• WaveCrest Pizza survey
• Harvest of the Month: Blueberries
• Featured entree of the month: Ballpark Loaded Tater Tots
• School Lunch Hero Day is May 2 – get ready!
• Job & career opportunities
Introducing The Charlie Cart
We are thrilled to have two brand-new Charlie Cart cooking carts ready for our classrooms! These mobile kitchens are designed by The Charlie Cart Project, whose mission is to equip “the next generation with the knowledge and confidence to make healthy food choices through hands-on cooking.”
While we’ve had mobile cooking carts before, The Charlie Cart takes it to a whole new level. Each cart is compact and mobile and brings all the tools, lessons, recipes, and support needed to build a comprehensive food education program.
From cutting boards and utensils to a skillet top, the Charlie Cart even includes its own built-in water tank to handle cleanup.
“We are excited to introduce these mobile kitchens to our schools,” says Aleeza Hendershot, Nutrition Education and Training Supervisor for Vistas USD. “The carts come with everything needed for an engaging and delicious nutrition lesson, including standards-aligned grade-level recipes and activities for K-5 classes. These carts will make it much easier for any teacher to host a cooking and nutrition lesson.”
The Charlie Cart is available for signups now. Interested teachers should contact Aleeza Hendershot.
Taste Tests at Schools Continued During National Nutrition Month
Our taste tests continued throughout March (aka National Nutrition Month), with students at half a dozen schools getting to try new foods and even conduct science experiments.
Taste tests are a critical part of engaging student voices and opinions in the process. Alongside regular surveys of students, parents, and staff members about the menu and WaveCrest Cafe’s programs, taste tests provide an up-close experience where students can sample new menu items or items being considered for future menus.
Vista Magnet Middle School: Students at VMMS were treated to a dual-purpose activity. All students were invited to participate in a science experiment, adding ingredients, including lemon juice and baking soda, to cabbage water to observe the change in color and PH balance in the cabbage.
Participating students were then invited to sample a homemade coleslaw from WaveCrest Cafe that will be available on salad bars across the district. Reports from VMMS are that students are loving the coleslaw and enjoyed the experience.
Foothill Oak Elementary: Breakfast was the theme for a taste test of Mini Blueberry Pancakes at Foothill Oak. Students were invited to try the item, which is in consideration for a future menu.
After sampling the item, students were given stickers and invited to register their votes in favor of, opposed to, or undecided about the breakfast treats. The samples were a smash hit, with 94% of students giving the pancakes a Happy Face rating; one student told us that the treats were “Oscar Winning”, and others asked for a return trip for more treats!
Mission Meadows Elementary: Plant-based foods were the featured items offered at Mission Meadows, as entrees from the food company ADDA Veggie were provided to students. The items sampled were a vegetarian Sloppy Joe and Sweet Potato Chaat, a sweet, tangy, traditional Indian street food.
The Sloppy Joe was a winner, with many students surprised to learn that the sandwich had no meat and almost all giving the tangy sauce high ratings. The Sweet Potato Chaat was less familiar and found a narrower audience. We explained that trying new foods is part of learning, and we appreciate students’ voices and input.
Madison Middle School: We tested a Buffalo Hand Pie, and students raved about it! In fact, 94% of students rated the item with a happy face (our highest rating), with many asking for seconds as well as coming back the next day to sample the item again.
Additional taste tests were held at Roosevelt Middle School, Alta Vista High School, RBV, and Mission Vista High Schools, with items including stuffed ricotta shells w/ marinara sauce, apple cinnamon Texas toast, turkey sausage and pepperjack cheese burrito, black bean taquito, breakfast pocket (bacon, cheese eggs), and vegetarian “chicken” nuggets.
We continue to look for new, innovative menu items to add to our perennial favorites in order to provide students with greater choices and opportunities to expand their flavor palettes.
WaveCrest Pizza Survey
Following the theme of gathering student voices for our menus, we’d like to invite you to fill out the WaveCrest Pizza survey. This will help us to make better decisions about the options for our popular, delicious, homemade pizzas – especially the specialty pizzas offered during each menu cycle.
The survey is intended for students. If you are a parent, please take a minute to fill out the survey with your kids and make sure they get to participate and contribute their voices.
To provide your feedback, click here for the survey.
Farm to School Focus:
April’s Harvest Of The Month is Blueberries
With over 450 different species around the world, blueberries are a plentiful and delicious food, not to mention very popular. In the USA, blueberries are second only to strawberries in popularity. So this month, we’re featuring this popular berry in our Harvest Of The Month program.
Blueberries are a bush-type perennial plant that can grow up to 12 feet tall. They take two to three years to mature and start producing berries. Once they do, they can be harvested between two to five times per year and can produce berries for up to 20 years.
Native American tribes in the northeast revered blueberries and taught colonists how to gather the berries, dry them under the summer sun, and store them for winter.
Some of the health benefits of blueberries include:
• They are rich in antioxidants to fight against sickness, as well as being rich in vitamins C and K, fiber, and manganese.
• They help lower your blood pressure to keep your heart healthy.
• Help keep eyes sharp and strong.
• Boost brain health by improving your memory and protecting brain cells.
• They are also rich in phytochemicals, which are naturally occurring compounds found in foods. Plants develop them to protect themselves, and it turns out they help humans as well.
Blueberry Facts
• The state of Maine produces the most wild blueberries anywhere in the world.
• Blueberry bushes can live for over 50 years!
• Blueberries float! They have tiny air pockets inside, causing them to float in water.
• Blueberries were once called “star berries” because of the five-pointed star shape on the blossom end.
Harvest of the Month Resources
Learn more about blueberries with your class during a Harvest of the Month activity. You can download our Harvest of the Month resources for families here.
Harvest of the Month is available for any classroom that wants to participate. If your child’s teacher wants to sign up for the program, it’s easy. For more information about the program, classroom tasting parties, and more, email Aleeza Hendershot.
Menu Spotlight: Ballpark Loaded Tater Tots with a Cornbread Muffin
In honor of the start of the baseball season, we’re featuring an item popular at Padres games that is engineered for great taste and nutrition. Our version of this major league favorite is a bowl loaded with baked tater tots, a hearty, protein-packed three-bean chili, and then topped with cheese, providing a vegetarian option packed with nutrients to power a day of learning.
Check your school’s menu to see this and other menu items. You can explore nutrition information for every menu item here.
*** Menus are subject to change based on ingredient availability and staffing needs.
Build Your Perfect Plate:
Giving Students Choices For Every Meal
Not only do we offer a variety of menu choices every day, but every meal comes with a selection of fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables.
This selection allows every student to build a plate with the things they like best from all our offerings. Want to load up on jicama and spinach? Go for it! Are pomegranates and grapes more your thing? Help yourself!
While the focus of meals can often be on the entree, building a perfect plate is a way of developing a habit of creating full, well-balanced meals that can last a lifetime.
We encourage each student to build their plate daily and hope that parents, families, teachers, and staff will join us in encouraging our students to take advantage of the wide range of fresh foods offered daily.
No Cost For Student Meals!
California is one of seven states across the country that has made school meals available at no cost to all students! In addition to providing fresh, healthy, delicious foods to our students, there is no paperwork required.
We’re Hiring!
Join Our Amazing Team.
School nutrition is an extremely rewarding job. You can be part of the nation’s largest restaurant group, serving tasty and nutritious meals to our children each and every day. What’s more, you’ll meet amazing people who are skilled, dedicated, and passionate about their roles.
Our team has the unique opportunity to interact with almost every student, every day. Those interactions make a big difference in our kids’ lives and lead to long-lasting and meaningful friendships.
See all of our available positions here: https://wavecrestcafe.com/employment-opportunities/
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(C) 2025 WaveCrest Cafe / Vista Unified School District
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Esta institución es un proveedor de igualdad de oportunidades.