Hood River County School District Nutrition Services Program Director Jordan Haas shared this “old school” recipe for cinnamon rolls at the school board's December meeting. She pointed out that at the time this recipe was written, making 300 rolls cost $7.42.
Hood River County School District Nutrition Services Program Director Jordan Haas shared this “old school” recipe for cinnamon rolls at the school board's December meeting. She pointed out that at the time this recipe was written, making 300 rolls cost $7.42.
HOOD RIVER — Hood River County School District (HRCSD) Director of School Nutrition Jordan Haas gave an overview of the nutrition services program to board members in December that included a lot of good news despite aging kitchen facilities.
Haas, a registered dietitian and HRCSD alum, began working as the nutrition services director in 2022. Most of the nutrition services program budget comes from state and federal meal reimbursement rather than the district’s general fund; for 2024-25, it’s budgeted as $3,075,000.
The program serves 750 breakfasts, 2,200 lunches, 900 snacks and 150 afterschool dinners daily with a staff of 28. The district expanded its free meals program to include all students district-wide in December 2023 and additionally serves meals during the summer months.
“We know for many students, this is the most complete meal they receive during the day, and for a lot of students, we are feeding them every meal that they eat during the day,” she said. All meals meet or exceed the comprehensive federal guidelines set by the USDA.
Haas reviewed five main program goals, one of which is to increase purchases of locally sourced food — both from Hood River County and the state — by 2026 and to introduce two new, locally sourced products each year.
Another is to provide culturally responsive menus over the next three years. Currently, the district’s three FoodCorps members are working with families and students at all grade levels to generate menu ideas and develop recipes.
FoodCorps members work “directly with students to create recipes that reflect their cultures, tastes and preferences,” she said, adding her vision is that “school meals honor the diversity of our student body, and that student and family voice informs all new recipe development in this district.”
For all the positives, Haas said there are challenges in managing operations and planning for future growth.
“I would say right now our biggest hurdle is failing equipment and aging facilities that we face in older schools,” she said, “especially Parkdale, Westside, Wy’east and the high school. These issues make it hard to continue to meet state and federal regulations, not even considering the additional demand that we’ve seen for our programs this year.”
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