NEW! Spring 2021 Menu Available

04/04/2021

Our Spring 2021 menu is now available. As usual, we’re delivering a mix of proven favorites with new items bound to find fans across our district. We are proud to be able to keep finding...

Spring Break Menus & Schedules

03/25/2021

We've got great things lined up for Spring Break! We'll be continuing our Virtual Meal Service at all locations except Madison Middle School - we're pausing that site just for the week. But you can...

March is National Nutrition Month!

02/26/2021

Versión en español a continuación March is National Nutrition Month®, and the theme for 2021 is Personalize Your Plate. Each week we'll highlight a different theme for the month to help you be better equipped...

Virtual Meals Service Moves to 1 Day per Week

01/21/2021

Starting January 27, 2021, we will be providing 7-days’ worth of meals every Wednesday. Packs are available to all children 18 and under. Parents picking up meals for children will be asked their child’s name(s),...

January 2021 Holiday Meal Service Changes

01/11/2021

There will be no meal service on Mondays January 18 & 25, 2021 Instead, we will serve 7 days of meals on January 13 & 20 (meals cover 1/14-1/20 and 1/21-1/27) Regular service will resume...

Special Meal Distribution for December 21

12/17/2020

Our 2020 meal service will wrap up with a special limited distribution on Monday, 12/21. On that date, we will have a limited number of meal kits containing:   Approximately 3 lbs. of ham Dinner...

Free Meals Clarification

12/08/2020

As a clarification to our December 2020 Newsletter, free meals are offered to children aged 18 & under.

Fall 2020 Virtual Schedule Meal Distribution Locations

10/21/2020

Fall 2020 Meal Schedules

09/03/2020

Fall meals available Mondays & Wednesdays. Special date: Tuesday, September 8th                     SPECIAL DATE: Tuesday, Sept. 8th Due to the Labor Day holiday, we will have...

Summer Meals Dates Extended Through August 2020

08/05/2020

  Summer 2020 meal service has been extended to provide meals through August 31, 2020. The final day for pickup service at all district locations will be Thursday, August 27, 2020.   All seven (7)...

Summer Meals Program Starts June 8th

06/02/2020

Location Change For Meals: Mary Lou Clack Center replaces Boys & Girls Club starting 4-29-20

04/27/2020

MEAL DISTRIBUTION LOCATION CHANGE: April 29, 2020   Dear Parents and Families of Vista Unified School District,   Beginning Wednesday, April 29, 2020, we will be shifting our current meal service at the Boys &...

Multi-Meal Pack Service Update: 4-19-2020

04/03/2020

UPDATE: 4-19-2020 All VUSD school sites being used for meal distribution are designed for drive-through service. The Boys & Girls Club of Vista will provide walk-up service only.   POST-SPRING BREAK MESSAGE (EFFECTIVE WEEK OF...

New Meal Schedule For Week of March 30

03/26/2020

SPRING BREAK MEAL DISTRIBUTION UPDATE Dear Parents and families of Vista Unified School District, Vista Unified School District will be adjusting our meal distribution schedule for the week of Spring Break beginning Monday, March 30....

CA Meals For Kids App Tracks School Meal Availability Locations

03/21/2020

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces ‘CA Meals for Kids’ App Update to Find Meals during COVID-19 School Closures   SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today (March 19, 2020) that the California Department...

UPDATE: 3-20-2020: Still Serving

03/20/2020

Health & Safety Update: Meal Service During Closures (3-13-2020)

03/14/2020

Dear Parents and Families of Vista Unified School District,   As you may know, Vista Unified School District has closed schools and will reopen schools on Monday, April 6, 2020. We are committed to ensuring...

03/03/2020

5 TIPS FOR ADDING VARIETY TO MEALS Variety is the Spice of a Healthy Meal Plan   Following nutritional advice is hard. It often seems like the target is always moving, and the pace of...

MIssion Meadows Welcomes Blender Bikes

03/01/2020

Mission Meadow students took their turn on the blender bikes Friday, February 28th in what was a joy-filled day for everyone involved.    WaveCrest cafe delivered both bikes to the school, along with refreshing ingredients...

Blender Bikes Bring Joy (and Flavor) To Breeze Hill

01/28/2020

The blender bikes made another stop this month at Breeze Hill Elementary for a lunch filled with physical exercise and nutritious snacks!   Students from TK all the way to 5th Grade took their turns...

Making Mealtimes Fun: Quick Tips To Use Today

01/21/2020

It often feels like cooking at home is an impossible task in today’s busy world. From trips to the grocery store to cooking and cleaning up -- home-cooked meals can easily become stressful endeavors. Sitting...

Time Saving Tips: Making Healthy Meals Easy

01/13/2020

A common complaint when it comes to eating healthy is that it takes too much time. While it may be tempting to stop at the drive-through on the way home from work, the convenience of...

Kindergartener Pays Off Lunch Balances For 100+ Students

12/13/2019

*** UPDATE WITH MEDIA LINKS AT BOTTOM OF STORY A kindergarten student at Breeze Hill Elementary School was recently honored for her work to raise funds that have gone to pay off negative lunch balances...

Put A Spin On Your Salad

12/06/2019

According to USDA’s MyPlate, half of all our meals should be composed of fruits and vegetables. The amount of vegetables you need each day depends on your age, sex, and level of physical activity, but...

Winter Is Coming: Wash Your Hands

12/04/2019

It’s National Handwashing Awareness Week, so we thought it’d be a good time to share some food safety tips with you. Although most people attribute food-borne illness to eating out at restaurants, a large portion...

Rancho Minerva Gets Back On The (Blender) Bikes

11/18/2019

Rancho Minerva Middle School students were able to cycle their way to refreshment recently as WaveCrest Cafe’s blender bikes made a return visit to the school. The bikes made their first visit in the spring...

Bobier Bonds with Blender Bikes

11/09/2019

WaveCrest Cafe’s blender bikes stopped by Bobier Elementary for what proved to be great fun. Students and teachers took their turns riding the smoothie making machines as bananas, apple juice and frozen strawberries were churned...

Roosevelt Celebrates Halloween With Ghoulishly Delicious Treats!

11/08/2019

“The horror… THE HORROR!!!” A truly terrifying event took place this Halloween on the Roosevelt Middle School campus. Students, hungry for their usual fill of sugary sweets, were greeted with items not often consumed by...

The Whole Story on Whole Grains

10/29/2019

The Whole Story Most of us have heard of whole grains and their touted health benefits. But what exactly is whole grain, and how much are we supposed to include as part of our daily...

Fear Factor Food Challenge Comes to Lake Elementary

10/28/2019

[caption id="attachment_4813" align="alignleft" width="600"] Lake Elementary PTA members came out in big numbers to brave the heat and serve up some delicious samples.[/caption] On Thursday, October 24th, WaveCrest Cafe made a visit to Lake Elementary...

Casita’s School Garden Innovation

10/01/2019

This week we’re celebrating Farm to School hero Jackson Perez at Casita Center for Science, Math & Technology. Mr. Perez embodies all three F2S areas of focus -- he engages students in hands-on learning through...

Mission Vista HS Welcomes PathWater; Reduces Plastic Waste

09/11/2019

Students at Mission Vista High School were greeted with surprise guests at lunch time on Monday, September 9th. Music boomed and they heard voices talking about reducing plastic waste, reusable water bottles, and trivia about...

Online Payment Provider Lowers Fees

08/16/2019

August 16, 2019 - Our online payment provider, K12PaymentCenter, has recently announced a change to their fee structure for adding funds to a student's meal account. The fee for transactions of any amount up to...

Menu Changes at Rancho Minerva

08/09/2019

Due to construction in the kitchen at Rancho Minerva Middle School, the menu for the first two days of school will be changed. The items served on those days will be: 8/15 - WaveCrest Pizza...

Vista High Students Have An Eye For Nutrition

05/07/2019

When the call went out looking for classes interested in working with WaveCrest Cafe to integrate class skills and knowledge with learning about how we operate a school nutrition program, Vista High School photography teacher...

Lake Dolphins Celebrate Nutrition Week With Blender Bikes

05/07/2019

The Lake Dolphins concluded a week long celebration of healthiness and nutrition with a visit from the WaveCrest Cafe Blender Bikes on Friday, April 26th. Bikes were pedaled, fruit was blended and smoothies were made...

Mission Vista Design Class Displays Taste

05/07/2019

Working with students to make connections between the classroom and the cafeteria is an ongoing opportunity for the WaveCrest Cafe team. Often we discuss things about the contribution of nutrition to learning and making sure...

Blender Bike Celebration at Empresa

05/07/2019

As Teacher Appreciation Week Kicked off, we brought the blender bikes for a smoothie celebration. Principal Dr. McKean started things off with the first ride of the day, and then the blending kicked in to...

Chef Ann Foundation Highlights WaveCrest Cafe

04/25/2019

The Chef Ann Foundation, a nonprofit founded with the "vision to create an organization that helps schools take action so that every child has daily access to fresh, healthy food,"has featured WaveCrest Cafe and Vista...

Beaumont Bears Welcome Blender Bikes

04/19/2019

It was another successful visit for our blender bikes as they brought fresh fruit smoothies and lots of excitement to the lunch time at Beaumont Elementary. The buzz started during the recess and nutrition break...

Mission Meadows Elementary Spins a Tale of Nutrition

04/15/2019

The line was non-stop and the energy palpable across the cafeteria and playground as Mission Meadows Elementary students welcomed the WaveCrest Cafe blender bikes to their school. The buzz started during recess as the bikes...

Meet The Farmers: A&A Organic Farms

04/11/2019

Farm Spotlight A & A Organic Farms - Watsonville, CA What They Grow: sugar snap peas; cherry tomatoes; bell peppers; cucumbers; broccoli; and more. A&A is a distributor, helping small and mid-size farms get their...

Maryland Elementary Blender Bikes For Healthy Shark Week

04/09/2019

On day 2 of Healthy Shark Week, the WaveCrest Cafe blender bikes made a visit to the Maryland Makos with fresh fruit smoothies and lots of fun. The action was non-stop from the moment the...

Monte Vista Elementary Celebrates California Foods

04/04/2019

Following up on last month’s popular visit of blender bikes, the Monte Vista Elementary Bobcats welcomed us back for a special California Thursdays photo day. These events allow us to talk with students about the...

Mission Vista Creative Writing Class Showcases Appetite For Nutrition

04/01/2019

Mission Vista High School English teacher Mrs. Marti Peruski has been a champion for WaveCrest Cafe for several years. Her classes have hosted taste test and feedback sessions, and she’s even done an exercise where...

Healthy Hawks Stir Up Flavor With Blender Bikes

03/19/2019

As part of Healthy Hawk Week, an annual celebration of nutrition and fitness at Alamosa Park Elementary School, we brought our blender bikes to have students mix up samples of fresh fruit smoothies. With lots...

Menu Changes at Casita, RBV, and Maryland on 3/20 and 3/21

03/19/2019

We've got some menu changes for Casita Center, RBV, and Maryland Elementary on 3/20 and 3/21, 2019. Casita will be serving Chicken Corn dogs and Cook's Choice (a variety of student favorites) on Wednesday. Maryland...

Roosevelt Middle School Hosts Blender Bikes

03/12/2019

It was a unique Monday at Roosevelt Middle School, as students encountered two lime green bicycles in the cafeteria, and the whirling noise of blenders being powered by the bikes. It may be more accurate...

Blender Bikes At Monte Vista

03/06/2019

March 5th saw the latest visit of our Blender Bikes to Monte Vista Elementary School. Hundreds of students sampled our Orange-cycle fruit smoothies and learned just how easy a healthy smoothie snack can be made...

Breeze Hill Elementary Blender Bike Day: 2-27-19

03/04/2019

On February 27, 2019 we visited Breeze Hill Elementary School with our blender bikes to make fresh fruit smoothies and celebrate the growing Farm To School program in Vista Unified, sourcing fresh, seasonal produce from...

Blender Bikes Put Spotlight on Rancho Minerva’s EMIE Award-winning Work to Reduce Food Waste

03/01/2019

WaveCrest Cafe recently brought our blender bikes to Rancho Minerva Middle School for a lunch time activity at the request of teacher Melanie Phillips. Mrs. Phillips and Rancho Minerva 7th grader Keila Ceron, are recent...

WaveCrest Heroes: Letha McWey

02/28/2019

We’ve been sharing stories from our staff and the ways that they interact with students. This month we spoke with Letha McWey, the cafeteria lead at Vista High School. Letha has a smile and a...

Casita Center Hosts Blender Bikes

02/08/2019

The WaveCrest Cafe blender bikes made a visit to Casita Center for Science, Math and Technology Elementary School on 2/7/19. After a quick lesson for 4th graders on how we are sourcing more and more...

Vista High’s Garden + Blender Bikes = Fresh, Healthy And Delicious Smoothies

02/01/2019

The faces communicated a mix of curiosity, amusement and slight confusion. What were the lime green bikes doing in the quad by the cafeteria? Were those blenders attached to the front of the bikes? How...

Ugly Food Gets A Beautiful Reception

01/30/2019

“If you see ugly food, don’t throw it away, just wash it and try it!” Those words, spoken by Alamosa Park 2nd grader Madison, were the consensus of a group of kinder - 2nd grade...

What Do Athletes REALLY Eat? Part 3: Football

01/29/2019

As Super Bowl 53 approaches, we thought it would be a great time to continue our series on “What do athletes REALLY eat?” When looking at professional football players, it probably comes as no surprise...

VIDA Class Digs Deep Into Food/Nutrition

01/22/2019

Making a connection between the classroom and real work issues that affect students’ daily lives has become a valuable resource for learning and teaching. So when a Design Challenge class at VIDA (Vista Innovation and...

What Do Athletes REALLY Eat? Part 2: X-Games

01/15/2019

In our series of, “What Do Athletes REALLY Eat?” we’re looking into the perception versus the reality of what athletes eat. It’s likely that no area of sports has a closer relationship to fast- and...

What Do Athletes REALLY Eat? Part 1: Rugby.

01/08/2019

When looking at the advertising landscape, one might think that athletes exist on a diet comprised primarily of fast food, energy drinks and candy bars with the slightest amounts of peanuts. The reality, however, is...

WaveCrest Heroes: Rita Manzo

12/17/2018

It’s a story reminiscent of the tale of the group of friends who have been playing a game of tag for 30+ years. And while this tale may not be as old or complex, it’s...

Blender Bikes Stir Up Flavor At Schools

12/12/2018

Curious looks were mixed with hesitation by some and excitement by others as VIDA students and staff encountered a table filled with small cups of green liquid next to a stationary cycle sporting a blender...

WaveCrest Heroes: Teresa Sharp

12/10/2018

Our team at WaveCrest Cafe is fantastic. Not only do they serve hundreds of meals in a short amount of time, but they make our cafeterias friendly, safe and welcoming spaces for all of our...

Hacking Your Snacks! / Organización de los refrigerios

11/28/2018

Planning for healthy snacks can help satisfy hunger between meals and keep you moving toward your food group goals. We've got a collection of ideas and tips that can help you to make snack time...

ROMAINE LETTUCE NOTICE

11/26/2018

UPDATE: November 30, 2018 We will resume serving romaine lettuce on Monday, December 3, 2018. We will only source lettuce from areas not affected by the recent recall.   ORIGINAL POST: November 26, 2018 ROMAINE...

10 Tips For Families: Building Healthy Mealtime Habits

11/15/2018

Our friends at MyPlate keep developing some great resources. One of the latest os a tip sheet for families to help develop healthy habits at mealtimes. While geared for younger children in preschool and elementary...

Virtual Reality Farming?

11/14/2018

On Thursday and Friday, November 8th and 9th, 3rd grade students at Empresa Elementary School had the opportunity to experience the “Seed Survivor” mobile learning unit, a partnership between agriculture company Nutrien and the California Foundation For...

Fear Factor Taste Challenge: Halloween Edition

11/08/2018

Halloween had extra flavor to it at Bobier Elementary School this year, as WaveCrest Cafe hosted a very special Fear Factor Taste Challenge event for the Broncos. Students were invited to taste six food items,...

How many fruits and vegetables do I need?

10/17/2018

Why do I need to eat fruits and vegetables? Fruits and vegetables provide us with many health benefits and nutrients that we would not be able to get otherwise. There’s no such thing as an...

Farm To School Month: We Support California Farmers

10/15/2018

October is Farm To School Month, when school districts around the country step up their local procurement, try in-class taste tests of different produce, and introduce new foods to school meals. Vista Unified School District...

Celebrating VUSD Gold Winners of HealthierUS School Challenge!

10/12/2018

Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) was a spectacle yesterday. Power Panther (the USDA mascot), 200 5th grade students, Gertrude the dairy cow, the Boys & Girls Club of Vista, and over two...

October Harvest Of The Month Tasting Parties: Pears

10/09/2018

Every month, Vista Unified teachers have access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables for classroom taste tests. This fun activity, part of our Farm To School program, features a Harvest Of The Month based...

Congratulations to Grapevine on the Silver Spike Award!

10/02/2018

We’re excited to announce that the WaveCrest Cafe kitchen staff at Grapevine Elementary is the recipient of the very first Silver Spike Award! The Silver Spike Award recognizes a WaveCrest Cafe team that has forged...

Celebrating National Food Service Workers Day at VUSD

09/25/2018

Today we’re celebrating National Food Service Workers Day by introducing some of the hard working people who feed our students every day. Get to know your WaveCrest Cafe staff! Letha McWey, Vista High School Letha...

Fall Farmers Markets For All Vista Elementary Schools

09/21/2018

This fall, every Vista Unified elementary school is getting a visit from a farmers market! Hosted by Food 4 Thought (and your lovely Child Nutrition Services department), students will get to pick their own fresh,...

Open Call for Wellness Council Site Reps!

09/20/2018

Are you interested in supporting wellness throughout Vista Unified School District? We’re looking for anyone in the district community (staff, parents, and community members) to be part of our Wellness Council and help shape the...

WaveCrest Cafe Featured On “Salad Bar Heroes” Blog

09/12/2018

WaveCrest Cafe was recently featured on the Salad Bar Heroes blog, part of Salad Bars 2 Schools, a program that began in 2010 when four partner organizations that had all been doing similar work joined forces....

Fear Factor Food Challenge at Hannalei

09/10/2018

Last Wednesday the students at Hannalei Elementary got a lunchtime surprise: a Fear Factor Food Challenge! The challenge is simple: try five different foods and earn a colorful sticker announcing “I survived the Fear Factor...

A guide to USDA school nutrition guidelines

08/27/2018

You probably know that your school cafeteria has to follow USDA guidelines for child nutrition. But do you know what those guidelines are or how they impact your school lunch choices? A recent history of...

Tour de Fresh cycling event raises funds for new salad bars

08/01/2018

WaveCrest Cafe is thrilled to have been selected as 1 of 4 school districts in the country to be a recipient of several new salad bars for some of our elementary schools. One of the...

We Have A New Online Payment Provider

07/16/2018

UPDATE: November 26, 2018 We are pleased to share the news that our online payment provider, K12 Payment Center, has launched a mobile app that will allow users to manage their accounts. The app is...

Summer Meals Kickoff at Boys & Girls Club of Vista

06/13/2018

A dozen lucky kids attending summer day camp at the Boys & Girls Club of Vista helped kickoff the Summer Meals program yesterday. Hosted by Vista Unified School District and funded by the USDA, Summer...

2018 Summer Meals Program: June 8 – August 10

05/21/2018

Summer Meals Program Runs June 8 - August 1 Click here for summer meals menus, locations, dates and times. Summer break may be drawing ever closer, but that doesn’t mean we stop feeding our community....

Alamosa Park Students are Lean and Green

05/15/2018

Once upon a time, there was a magical kingdom called Alamosa Park Elementary. Every day, the students learned their lessons, ate their lunch, and played during recess. One day, a royal family came to the...

April Harvest of the Month Tasting Parties: Grapefruit

04/16/2018

School all across the district are participating in Harvest of the Month tasting parties. In April we're celebrating the grapefruit! Scroll to see photos and quotes from our students about their Harvest of the Month...

Kindergarten Grapefruit Tasting Party at Breeze Hill Elementary

04/16/2018

“Raise your hand if you’ve ever tasted a grapefruit before,” Darlene Wiedeman asks the 20 or so kindergarten students seated on the carpet. About half the students raise their hands high in the air. Though...

Bok Choy Tasting Party for Harvest of the Month

04/02/2018

If you asked the average third grader if she likes bok choy, chances are she’d ask you what bok choy is. If you asked the average third grader in room #31 at Empresa Elementary School...

Locally Sourced: Hollandia Dairy

03/14/2018

A lot has changed since Kathy Santos first started working at Hollandia Dairy 26 years ago. “We had cows here at the headquarters in San Marcos,” Santos laughs. “I used to stare at them out...

Maryland Elementary Celebrates National School Breakfast Week

03/05/2018

Students, parents, teachers, and staff at Maryland Elementary School kicked off National School Breakfast Week 2018 this morning. Running from March 5 through March 9, National School Breakfast Week encourages everyone to “get social over...

Four Fun Facts About California Food

02/12/2018

It's no secret that we love to serve fresh, locally-sourced food to students. We're especially lucky that California has such an amazing abundance of healthy and great tasting things to eat! Here are a few...

WaveCrest In The News: Donors Pay Off Student Lunch Balances

02/12/2018

COMMUNITY DONORS PAY OFF VISTA STUDENTS’ LUNCH BALANCES DONANTES DE LA COMUNIDAD PAGAN LOS SALDOS DE ALMUERZO DE ESTUDIANTES DE VISTA   Vista, CA | February 7, 2018 -- Two individuals in the Vista Unified...

Locally Sourced: Colors Gourmet Pizza

01/30/2018

Martial Bricnet makes a lot of dough for the Vista Unified School District -- enough to make 300+ pizzas a day for the district’s cafe brand, WaveCrest Cafe. “I figure about 1800 kids a day...

Survey Participation Winners Announced!

12/15/2017

Congratulations to VIDA Middle School and Alamosa Park Elementary! These two schools are the winners of our fall 2017 survey participation contest, having the highest percentage of responses as measured by school enrollment.  On the...

Central Kitchen Tour Recap

12/12/2017

The process, place and people involved in feeding over 20,000 meals to Vista Unified students every day may well be one of the district’s best-kept secrets. That’s not by design, however, and so in an...

Welcome Sage Mountain Farm!

12/05/2017

When Phil Nobel moved from City Heights to a farm in Hemet back in 2004, he never expected he’d actually become a farmer professionally. “I worked for the property damage department of an insurance company,”...

Green Thumbs Abound At Vista Unified School Gardens

11/27/2017

School gardens are a growing trend across the country, and San Diego County is a leader in that effort. Vista Unified alone has 14 gardens across its schools, and two of those recently celebrated robust...

SDSU Women’s Basketball Team Visits VUSD Schools

11/03/2017

On October 11th and October 17th, members of the San Diego State University Women's Basketball team made visits to VIDA and Olive Elementary, respectively. Aztec players spoke with students about the importance of good nutritional...

#CA Thursdays At Hannalei! 10-12-17

10/13/2017

Thursday, October 12, 2017: Today we got to visit Hannalei Elementary to celebrate #CaliforniaThursdays, and we had a blast! First off we visited three classrooms, and have to send our biggest thanks to Mr. Gorgueiro,...

Olive Elementary Produce: Classroom To Table

10/11/2017

UPDATE: October 12, 2017 The team at Olive sent in a picture of the produce that they grew in class and served at lunch today. Students were able to grow 1.07 lbs. of fresh greens...

How Much Fruit Should I Eat?

10/03/2017

It's tough to think of a snack that's healthier than fresh fruit. And because fruits have so many different flavors, from sweet to tart, there's bound to be a fruit that's the perfect fit for...

Farmers Markets At All VUSD Elementary Schools!

09/26/2017

Farmers Markets are coming to every elementary school in Vista Unified during the 2017-18 school year! The past several years have seen schools in a rotation to host the event every three years, cycling through...

Slow Down With The Sodium!

09/26/2017

Most of us get more sodium than we need. While adding salt to your food is a source of sodium, it may not be the main reason that your sodium intake is high. Packaged and...

Make Small Changes: Dinner

09/19/2017

As we wrap up our series on making small changes for big differences, we've saved dinner, the most common family meal, to cover in this week's installment. Thanks to the people at ChooseMyPlate for the...

Make Small Changes: Snacks

09/12/2017

Snack time! We all love having those small snacks during the day to keep us fueled up. And snacks can go in any direction. Thanks to our friends at ChooseMyPlate, we're offering you some inspiration...

Make Small Changes: Lunch

09/05/2017

Lunch is a perfect time to think about making a shift to healthier eating habits. Moving just a few items around can mean the difference between loads of saturated fats and added sugars, and a...

Make Small Changes: Beverages

08/29/2017

The fine people at ChooseMyPlate have developed a series of tips that show how small changes can mean big things for a healthier lifestyle. And these changes can happen throughout the day, from breakfast, lunch...

Daily Calorie Checklist

08/25/2017

Do you have a daily checklist or plan to track the type and amount of calories you consume? If not, our good friends at ChooseMyPlate have devised a number of interactive resources to track your...

Make Small Changes: Breakfast

08/22/2017

Small changes add up to big differences. Our friends at ChooseMyPlate have developed a series of short (:45) videos and some recipes and tips on how to make shifts to healthier choices for every meal...

Choose My Plate Tips And Resources

08/18/2017

We enjoy sharing great tips and resources from our friends at ChooseMyPlate. MyPlate is a reminder to find your healthy eating style and build it throughout your lifetime. Everything you eat and drink matters. The...

10 Tips On Being An Active Family

07/27/2017

It's no secret that an active lifestyle is a significant part of maintaining healthiness. In fact, adults need 2½ hours a week of physical activity, and children need 60 minutes a day. That may sound...

Recipes To Stay Cool This Summer

07/11/2017

Our good friends at the USDA have just shared some delicious recipes for the summer months (or anytime, really). From a fresh veggie wrap to a mango smoothie and a southwestern tofu scramble, these dishes...

Summer Tips Infographic

06/19/2017

While we've got a full, multi-page guide for how to eat smart all summer long, sometimes all you have time for is a quick look. So here's a handy one page tip sheet with great...

Summer Guide: Eat Smart To Play Hard

06/09/2017

Summer's here, and the time is right, for eating smart and playing hard! And our friends at the USDA have put together a fantastic parents' guide for keeping kids fueled up with healthy foods and...

UPDATED: Winners Announced! Strawberry Superhero Poster Contest Finalists

05/26/2017

WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! When the votes were tallied on the afternoon of Sunday, May 28th at the Vista Strawberry Festival, Natalia of Vista Academy (of Visual and Performing Arts) was the first-prize winner in...

Summer Meals Begin June 8th

05/25/2017

The 2017 Summer meals program is about to start serving at locations across the communities served by Vista Unified School District. The program, run by the USDA, ensures that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals...

Lake Elementary Garden Club Grows

05/05/2017

Lake Elementary School's Garden Club has been growing by leaps and bounds, and recently celebrated a bountiful and varied harvest this spring. The club, currently comprised of 3rd - 5th graders, meets twice weekly after...

Monte Vista Wins Colorful Tray Contest

05/02/2017

Students and staff at Monte Vista Elementary School recently celebrated their victory in a district-wide "Build A Colorful Tray" contest, with the entire school receiving free frozen treats. The contest, conducted in partnership with the...

Beans: Veggies With Protein, or Protein-packed Veggies?

04/25/2017

No matter how you look at them, beans are a fantastic source of protein and vitamins that can fuel just about any meal. And thanks to our friends at the USDA, we've got a few...

Slow The Sodium!

04/18/2017

We know that pre-packaged seasoning mixes can save some time, but they're generally loaded with sodium, and too much of that is no good for anyone. Fortunately, we've got some fantastic and easy-to-make seasoning mixes...

UPDATED: Wellness Council Taskforce Holds Public Meeting April 11th

04/03/2017

Vista Unified School District is committed to providing school environments that promote and protect our children's health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.  This year our district's Wellness Council...

The Reviews Are In: Students Give Thumbs Up to WaveCrest Cafe

03/14/2017

Several weeks back we were interested in getting feedback from students about some menu items. And rather than a simple taste test with a conversation, we were lucky enough to partner with Kristina Dumbeck’s writing...

Vista High Students Share Wellness Lessons at Bobier Elementary

03/10/2017

Students from Jody Ordoñez’s senior English class at Vista High School worked on a wide-ranging research project on a topic of their choice related to wellness. As the finished, they realized that they wanted to...

March is National Nutrition Month

03/08/2017

March is National Nutrition Month. This month long celebration of healthy eating and education started as National Nutrition Week in 1973. Interest and excitement grew and National Nutrition Month® was inaugurated in 1980.  In order to help...

National School Breakfast Week: March 6-10, 2017

03/06/2017

It's National School Breakfast Week! The week of March 6-10, 2017 is the annual national celebration of school serving the most important meal of the day. We've written about how breakfast is linked to improved...

School Gardens: Casita Center

03/01/2017

We love our Vista USD school gardens. They're magical places that add so much to students' learning experiences. We recently had a chance to visit Casita Center, one of Vista USD's magnet elementary schools, and...

Small Changes. Big Differences: Breakfast

02/15/2017

Small changes at breakfast can make a big difference in the quest to eat healthier and stay powered for the day. Of course breakfast is the most important meal of the day, fueling up the...

10 Tips For Building Healthy Meals

01/18/2017

We've got another fantastic list for you from our friends at Choose My Plate. This one is a list of ten easy tips to help you build healthy meals. You can follow the link to...

Hydration Stations Coming To 10 Vista Schools

01/06/2017

Water bottles have become ubiquitous on school campuses the past few years, as students have learned the benefits of maintaining healthy levels of hydration. Filling those bottles, however, has been a cumbersome task for many,...

Vista Farmers Market Highlights Harvest Of The Month Program

01/04/2017

We were thrilled to see, just before the winter break, that the Vista Farmers Market highlighted our Harvest Of The Month classroom program in their newsletter. We're happy to be able to support the market,...

Eat The Rainbow! Colorful Winter Recipes

12/14/2016

Candy companies might want you to merely, "taste the rainbow," but we encourage you to eat it up and make your plate colorful year round. There are so many options to make colorful meals that...

Vista Academy Jog-a-thon Promotes Wellness, Nutrition

12/07/2016

On Friday, November 18th, Vista Academy (Of Visual and Performing Arts) hosted a fall Jog-a-thon for the entire school, encouraging students and staff alike to develop healthy lifestyle habits and raise awareness of wellness and nutrition....

10 Tips For Healthy Snacking

11/14/2016

Snack time can be challenging, particularly when ripping open a bag seems easier than food prep. But thanks to our friends at the USDA and their MyPlate website, we've got 10 tips to help you...

We Have Winners! Survey Contest Winners Announced

11/09/2016

WE HAVE WINNERS! We are thrilled to announce that Monte Vista Elementary and Rancho Minerva Middle School are the winners of our WaveCrest Cafe Nutrition Service Survey contest. While we’d initially said that we’d award...

Breakfast & Academic Performance

11/08/2016

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it's a good thing to regularly remind ourselves of why that is. In a 2011 article titled, How Does Healthy Eating Affect...

Bobier Selected by UCSD For Wellness Program

11/07/2016

[caption id="attachment_1297" align="alignleft" width="236"] Amy Haessly, Vista Unified nutrition education and training supervisor, going over food labels with a third grade class.[/caption] Bobier Elementary was recently selected by the UCSD School of Medicine as one of six...

O’Side Turkey Trot Coming Nov. 24th

10/18/2016

The 11th annual PMCU Turkey Trot makes its way to Oceanside on Thanksgiving Day, November 24th. This 10k/5k run/walk has become a popular event in North County, with thousands participating each year from more than 40...

What Should My Plate Look Like?

10/17/2016

Do you ever get bogged down by all of the information about food and you just want a simple image to make sense of it? Well you're in luck, because the USDA has come up...

October Newsletter

10/13/2016

Our October newsletter is here! Click here: October 2016 and you'll be reading it in no time. This is a PDF version of our monthly email newsletter, with updates on menu items, Harvest Of The Month, and much...

2 Breakfasts Better Than None?

10/04/2016

A recent study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity suggests that students who eat one or even two breakfasts on a regular basis are less likely to develop childhood obesity. According to the study, "Weight...

What Healthy Meals Look Like

09/15/2016

A picture is worth a thousand words. And since we've combined two pictures here, you're really getting your money's worth! We wanted to share a helpful infographics guide to the components of healthy meals, particularly the...

We’ve Got Games!

09/01/2016

Our friends at the USDA have just released a slew of new resources for families to talk about nutrition and the MyPlate guidelines for building healthy meals. Among those are games that can be used...

Choices Every Day!

08/25/2016

How many choices for lunch do you think the average student has on a daily basis? Two? Three? Four? We ask that question a lot, and the answer often surprises students, parents and teachers alike....

Summer Lunch Menus & Locations

06/14/2016

Summer is here, and thanks to the USDA, Vista Unified School District and some community partners, WaveCrest Cafe is offering free lunches to children up through the age of 18 at close to 20 locations...

WaveCrest Cafe Celebrates Lunch Lady Hero Day!

05/23/2016

The first Friday of May each year is designated as Lunch Lady Hero Day. This is the 2nd straight year that WaveCrest Cafe has celebrated. The day was inspired by author Jarret J. Krosoczka’s Lunch...

Harvest Of The Month Spotlight: Beaumont Elementary

05/19/2016

CA Dept. of Public Health group, alongside WaveCrest Cafe's Amy Haessly (3rd from right) and Beaumont Lead Deanna Wilson (2nd from left), at Beaumont Elementary School. We're happy to share this story about our Harvest...

Our Farm To School Plan – Finalized!

05/11/2016

Over a year ago, Amy Haessly, our Nutrition Education and Training Supervisor, who is also a Registered Dietitian, began a process with technical assistance from CHIP (Community Health Improvement Partners) to develop a comprehensive 3-year Farm To School Plan (click...

WaveCrest Cafe In The News! CW-6; Coast News and LiveWell SD

04/18/2016

WaveCrest Cafe's recent launch of the California Thursdays initiative was well-covered by area media. The CW-6 morning news team visited Roosevelt Middle School where they visited with Principal Elise Ochenduszko, Cafeteria Lead Betsy Montes and...

California Thursdays Comes To Vista & San Diego!

03/17/2016

On Thursday, March 17th, WaveCrest Cafe, the Nutrition Services department of Vista Unified School District, joins a network of 12 San Diego County school districts to launch California Thursdays. The statewide effort includes 58 districts...

WaveCrest team featured in UCSD Harvest Of The Month Video

03/08/2016

This week, two of our WaveCrest Cafe community members were featured in a new video about the popular and successful Harvest Of The Month Program. Foothill Oak Elementary school's WaveCrest lead, Dania Velarde, and 2nd...

Introducing Kitchen Skills University

02/18/2016

We’re thrilled to introduce a new video series to give you some helpful tips for making your life easier (and more fun) in the kitchen. It’s called Kitchen Skills University. We’ll be posting updates on...

Strawberry Festival Race Registration Open

02/04/2016

May 29th, 2016 is the date for the annual Vista Strawberry Festival Run, and VUSD students are once again offered half-price registration fees through a partnership with the Vista Chamber of Commerce. The run includes...