Schools get new food prep machines

Tony Gegorek, food services manager for North Rowan High, demonstrates how a newly purchased food chopper, right compares to the older model, left, which many schools still use. Money was donated to buy the new choppers that were given to area high schools. Photo by Shavonne Potts, Salisbury Post

Area food services staff will be able to prepare healthy meals like this one in half the time thanks to donations of new food choppers in the cafeterias. Rowan-Salisbury School System officials and local high school food services managers gathered at Salisbury High to see a demonstration of a new food chopper. Photo by Shavonne Potts, Salisbury Post

Diane Hooper, director of the Rowan Regional Medical Center Foundation, left, Dr. Walter Hart, Rowan-Salisbury School System assistant superintendent of administration and superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom, partake of a meal prepared mainly with a newly donated food chopper that will in the future be in all the schools. Photo by Shavonne Potts, Salisbury Post

By Shavonne Potts

spotts@salisburypost.com

It chops. It dices. It shreds. It grates. It's a Robot Coupe and it's in your schools.

Actually it's in seven schools in the Rowan-Salisbury system. The $3,000 vegetable choppers were donated by local businesses, foundations and individuals.

The goal is for each school to have one of these industrial-strength food processors to help food services staff prepare healthier lunches quicker.

Area food services managers and other school system officials assembled Tuesday at Salisbury High to see the chopper in action and to taste foods it helped prepare.

One large donation and several smaller donations made it possible for the school system to obtain a new processor for each high school and Overton Elementary, as requested by a donor.

Diane Hooper, director of the Rowan Regional Medical Center Foundation, said the organization would like to see one in every school.

"The chopper is a labor- saving device," she said.

The foundation began raising money for the project last year. Once it collected enough for at least all six high schools, the choppers were purchased.

Jim Smith, a supervisor with child nutrition for the Rowan-Salisbury School System, told the group about the menu.

It included whole wheat pasta salad, baked sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes and carrots, roasted squash medley and vegetable barley soup.

Schools have already incorporated some items on the menu, such as baked sweet potatoes and whole wheat rolls. They recently tested the black bean salsa and the primavera whole wheat pasta salad on some North High students, who gave the dip high marks.

"Students loved the pasta. They just said it needed more 'juice'," said Libby Post, director of child nutrition for the Rowan-Salisbury School System.

Also new this year, the schools are serving fresh fruit at breakfast.

"The high schools have seen huge changes this year," Post said.

The system is offering more healthy fare, she said. "Students are choosing healthier options."

Dr. Christopher Magryta, with Salisbury Pediatric Associates, said parents and school officials need to talk with legislators about funding for items like the choppers and healthier foods in the schools.

Salisbury Pediatric Associates was one of the donors who made it possible to get the choppers.

The schools have already been using older choppers, but the latest ones are much quicker, food service managers said.

Tony Gegorek, food services manager of North Rowan High School, demonstrated the chopper.

"It cuts the time in half. We can do more things with it. It's just quicker," Gegorek said.

He said the older choppers are still a good product, but the newly purchased ones are more efficient.

All of the food service managers learned in one morning session how to use the choppers.

"Many items are already menued like fresh fruits, but this will help with labor and make the food more presentable," said Heather Strickland, food services manager of West Rowan High School.

She said this new machine is very versatile.

Nutrition staff are always testing new meals. They like to introduce something new and healthy for students at least once a month, Post said.

Right now they are working on perfecting oatmeal.

It seems easy enough but can be challenging, said intern Katherine Younger. She and other staff tested oatmeal using water, milk, a combination of both milk and water as well as with different flavors.

Several variables that have to come together to make a large batch of good oatmeal, Younger explained, even the type of pot used.

Donors supporting the project include:

- Mr. and Mrs. Seamus Donaldson

- Katherine Dunn

- Catherine Hall

- Dr. Acquawon J. Stallworth

- Mr. and Mrs. Paul Weisler

- F&M Bank

- Salisbury Pediatric Associates

- Joe L. and Hester M. Sims Family Foundation

- Rowan Regional Medical Center.