RUSD Nutrition Services honored with Key to the District

The Rialto Unified School District Nutrition Services was recently honored with the prestigious “Key to the District” award by Board Member Edgar Montes for outstanding service to students in the District.

Nutrition Services earned the Key during the February 8 Board of Education Meeting, which was held at the Eisenhower High School Performing Arts Center. Most of the 167 employees in Nutrition Services were on hand to receive the award along with an RUSD pin, celebrate the honor, and shake hands with the Board of Education and RUSD Superintendent Dr. Cuauhtémoc Avila.

“With their passion and exuberant energy, our Nutrition Services has accomplished so much in this District, especially through the toughest times of all our lives, the pandemic, so I would like to take some time to recognize them for this worthy honor,” Montes stated at the meeting.

Nutrition Services is led by Fausat Rahman-Davies, Lead Agent of Nutrition Services, Maria Rangel, Assistant Agent of Nutrition Services, Kristina Kraushaar, Child Nutrition Program Innovator, and Sarah Aguilar and Juan Sedano, both Nutrition Supervisors. The service area serves up more than 6.1 million meals annually, including breakfast, lunch, supper, and snacks, and during the Seamless Summer program. During the pandemic, Nutrition Services stepped up to fill a need in the community and served 14.7 million meals through its grab-and-go service.

“I would like to thank Mr. Montes for honoring Nutrition Services with the Key to the District,” Rahman-Davies said. “It is my belief that working together and providing our families with nutritionally fun educational opportunities will not only help improve health but lay the foundation for excellence in our scholars. Our cafeterias are a pivotal part of the education process and in Rialto, we understand that it is our job to encompass the body, soul, and spirit of students, staff, and community by being the bridge that connects our Cafeteria, Classroom, and Community. Rialto has shown me the true meaning of ‘Ubuntu,’ which is the African philosophy that the togetherness of our actions and the impact it is having on our community is creating a better life for us all. I am because we are.”

Nutrition Services serves more than 40,000 meals daily to students across the District, and more than 60% of the menus are made from scratch each day. Aside from Los Angeles City Unified School District, the RUSD is the only district that provides Breakfast in the Classroom district-wide.

The “Key the District” is just one in a long line of honors Nutrition Services has earned over the years. They have also earned “Excellence in Leadership and Innovation” from the United States Department of Agriculture Nutrition Service Western Region, “Summer Sunshine Award”, USDA Great Grains Award, the 2020 “Turnip the Beet” Silver award from USDA, and the 2021 “Turnip the Beet” Gold Award.

Additionally, Nutrition Services collaborates with Education Services to implement a Farm to School Program, which allows for the procurement of student-grown produce to be used in our cafeterias. They have also spearheaded the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), which introduces elementary students to a variety of produce that they otherwise might not have the opportunity to sample. Nutrition Services also collaborates with the Career Technical Education program to create the Rialto Keystone Café Food Pantry. The Pantry operates outside of the district food service program through monthly drive-thru distributions that assist students, families, and the community.

“Whether it is feeding students’ breakfast in the classrooms, during lunchtime in the cafeteria, helping with various grab-and-go drive-thru events, or just helping to maintain fruits and vegetables at school gardens, Nutrition Services is always willing to help and serve food for anyone who truly needs it,” Montes said.