March 2025 WaveCrest Cafe Newsletter
March 02nd, 2025
In this issue:
• March is National Nutrition Month!
• Taste tests at schools
• Harvest of the Month: Avocado
• Featured menu items (Breakfast edition): Eggs, Sausage Links, and Pancake Bites; Breakfast Bento Box
• Job & career opportunities
March is National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The theme for 2025 is Food Connects Us, and we’ll be celebrating the ways that food connects us to other cultures and communities. We will also be holding a series of events at schools across the district, including taste tests, science experiments with food, and more.
We invite everyone to focus on the importance of making informed food choices, and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. All are welcome to get involved, and if you’d like to access games, activities, and resources to support your nutrition education, visit sm.eatright.org/NNM to learn more about the importance of fueling bodies at every age.
National School Breakfast Week
Part of National Nutrition Month includes National School Breakfast Week, which happens this year from March 3-7. Studies show that children who regularly eat a school breakfast are able to concentrate more, have fewer absences, and perform better on tests.
This year’s theme is, Clue In To School Breakfast, and we’ll be posting information and trivia about the benefits of school breakfast as well as featuring some of our new breakfast entree items.
To get the week started, try this quiz and see what you know and what you may not know about the most important meal of the day. https://bit.ly/3OfZjlJ
Join us for breakfast each and every day. Click here to see what’s on your menu.
National Registered Dietitian Day
March 12th is National Registered Dietitian Day. We are fortunate to have two RDs on our team, Director Karly Wasung, and Nutrition Education and Training Supervisor Aleeza Hendershot.
Registered Dietitians bring enormous expertise to their jobs, and are key to planning menus that are both tasty and nutritious, conforming to the regulations for school meals set by the USDA. Our skilled RDs ensure that our meals are protein-rich and low in fat and sodium. This can involve developing new recipes, collaborating with other school nutrition professionals to share ideas, and balancing the very diverse tastes and preferences of thousands of students and parents.
We’re grateful for Karly and Aleeza and all of the dedicated RDs working in school nutrition. Be sure to send them a big thanks on March 12 (and any other day you’d like).
Taste Tests at Schools
One of our favorite ways to engage with our students is doing taste tests at schools. These tests allow us to see how students respond to foods that we are either considering putting on the menu or that are already there and may need a boost.
Often times we are introducing foods to students for the first time, so creating a fun and inviting environment can take away some of the hesitation.
We recently provided samples of roasted red pepper hummus to students at Roosevelt Middle School during lunch periods. Students were able to choose from three different items to eat with the hummus: tortilla chips, carrots, or celery. After tasting the hummus we invited students to use our taste test stickers to display their votes as to how much they liked it or would want to try it again.
The red pepper hummus was a hit with Roosevelt students, with a clear majority loving it, followed by a handful of votes in the middle, and very few “I didn’t like it” votes.
We’ll be at more schools throughout March, conducting taste tests and getting student feedback as part of our process to always innovate and adapt our menus to current tastes and trends. It’s a delicious way to learn!
Farm to School Focus:
March’s Harvest Of The Month is Avocado
Our March Harvest of the Month food is avocado, and we will feature them on our Friday menus to pair well with our fish tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.
Avocado Background
While they are often mistaken for vegetables, avocados are actually a fruit. Avocados come in many different types, with more than 80 varieties grown in California alone. Some, like the popular and most-common Hass variety, see their skin turn dark purple and close to black when ripe. Other varieties, known as “greenskins”, maintain their green color on the skins as they ripen.
Avocados date back nearly 7,00 years to southern Mexico and Colombia. Originally called ahuacatl by the Aztecs of ancient Mexico, the fruit later became known as aguacate by the Spanish in the 16th century and nicknamed the “alligator pear” by English colonists who mistakenly substituted “alligator” for aguacate and added “pear” for the fruit’s shape. The term aguacate eventually evolved into avocado by Americans who could not pronounce the Spanish.
Avocado trees can grow to anywhere between 20 and 80 feet tall. Avocado trees generally take at least five years to bear fruit, and the amount of fruit they produce can vary from year to year. Most modern, commercial avocado farms plant trees that have grafted trees and rootstocks so that they can grow and produce fruit more quickly.
Avocado Tip: Avocado fruit does not ripen on the tree. The fruit falls off of the tree and ripens on the ground. Most commercial avocados today are picked from the tree while unripe and then ripen on store shelves.
Reasons to Eat Avocados
• Avocados are packed with beneficial nutrients. In fact, ½ cup of avocados provides:
• Plenty of fiber and monounsaturated fat (monounsaturated fat is a nutrient that helps make cells and absorb certain vitamins)
• Significant amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B, folate, potassium, and vitamin K
• Riboflavin, magnesium, niacin, and vitamin E
Harvest of the Month Resources
Learn more about avocado 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:(Breakfast edition):
Eggs, Sausage Link, and Pancake Bites; Breakfast Bento Box
To celebrate National School Breakfast Week, we’d like to spotlight two different breakfast entrees.
Eggs, Sausage Links, and Pancake Bites: This tasty, well-balanced meal is a great way to start a day of learning and being with friends. Scrambled eggs and a hearty sausage link deliver all the nutrients of a superfood, while miniature pancake bites top off the meal with extra energy and great taste. This plate also comes with our selection of fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies.
Breakfast Bento Box: This grab-and-go item is almost identical to one that you’ll find at some of the nation’s most popular coffee shops. A hard-boiled egg packed with protein and vitamins is an anchor to the box, while fresh fruit, cheese squares, and a breakfast muffin round out the meal. Fresh. Healthy. Delicious.
Check your school’s menu to see these 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.