Petersburg’s school district received national recognition in March for bringing in more local flavor to its kitchens.
Carlee Johnson McIntosh oversees Petersburg School District’s food program. She spent the last half-year using a $100,000 USDA grant to put more locally-sourced food on the menu. She says the district partnered with Petersburg’s tribe, the Petersburg Indian Association to put traditional foods on the menu. Johnson McIntosh fsays it was a hit with the students.
“They liked it! They really liked it,” said Johnson McIntosh. “They really liked the herring eggs — we ended up having it on the salad bar. And then the leftover salmon we served after school, like salmon salad sandwiches. And then the moose — we had it as tastings during lunch with the moose gravy, and we cut the moose roast into little squares, so that was kind of fun.”
Johnson McIntosh says the other part of the award recognizes her team’s effort to create original recipes and cook more school meals from scratch. She says it was a challenging switch. But she thanks her staff for being open to new ideas, and for being entirely along for the ride.
“[They] are doing amazing jobs,” said Johnson McIntosh. “[Because] I might be the one behind the scenes pushing them to do this, but they’re the ones physically doing it. I like to stay in the background — I like to hide. But I really think it’s great for my staff to get the recognition, more so than myself.”
The Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards were created by the USDA and the national nonprofit organization Action for Healthy Kids. Rob Bisceglie is the president of Action for Healthy Kids. He says Petersburg School District jumped out at him during the selection process for the award because of the depth of the program’s community involvement.
“The work that they’re doing is going around, making sure that they’re recognizing the voices of their students and their families,” said Bisceglie. “[They’re] incorporating culturally-appropriate food items into their menu, and making sure that they’re addressing all kinds of other local issues that really pertain to what they experience in Alaska. It’s a pretty exciting program!”
Bisceglie said each Healthy Meals Incentives award winner was invited to attend a summit in the coming months, where they’ll share their best practices and be recognized for their efforts.
