5-DISTRICT AGENCY WINS FOOD SERVICE AWARD; CLEANLINESS, EFFICIENCY HELP EARN `OUTSTANDING' HONOR.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer While normally the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, School Food Services food services Hospital services A 24/7 department in a hospital that provides for the nutritional needs of inpatients–eg, those needing special diets, preparing meals and transporting them to the floor and, through the cafeteria, the hospital staff and Agency is the one delivering the goods, this week they were on the receiving end as they were awarded the state's top honor. The local agency responsible for feeding students in five school districts in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. was named Outstanding School Lunch Program by the California Department of Education The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The Department oversees funding, testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. . ``We are absolutely thrilled,'' said Pavel Matustik, Chief Administrative Officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive for the Santa Clarita Valley School Food Services Agency. ``I see this as honoring the staff's hard work.'' Formed in the 1989, the agency was one of 13 to receive the statewide honor out of 231 eligible. ``We didn't have anything that needed to be corrected,'' said Karla Bartel, administrative secretary for the Santa Clarita Valley School Food Services Agency. ``We were given a completely clean bill of health.'' The food service agency was selected following a random audit - conducted only once every five years - for cleanliness Cleanliness See also Orderliness. Cleverness (See CUNNING.) Berchta unkempt herself, demands cleanliness from others, especially children. [Ger. Folklore: Leach, 137] cat continually “washes” itself. and efficiency. ``They check everything from nutrition integrity to service to financial records,'' said Matustik. ``They look at the whole program.'' To earn the honor, a food service agency must place at 100 percent in all categories and be nominated by a staff member with the state's school lunch program division. In addition to the perfect score, the agency must show that they have a direct connection with students in the areas that they serve. ``It's not only what they find, it's how you enhance your program to include students,`` said Matustik. `` The Santa Clarita agency has a student training program in which agency staff selects a fourth grade class from each school district and teaches th pupils how to prepare and serve food. Students then invite an adult to a luncheon they prepare and serve under the guidance of the food service agency workers. Headquartered in the Valencia Industrial Park, the agency prepares 10,000 meals a day to be served at 36 campuses. The meals are prepared in advance, then warmed at each school. Each day, students are given a choice of five food selections, which might include turkey and gravy, chicken nuggets, hamburger, pizza or a deli sandwich. ``We know we can't please all of the students all of the time, but we sure try,`` Bartel said. All of the lunches come with a style of cooked potato, salad bar, dessert and milk. Matustik said that the agency has changed its lunch program to better match current nutritional guidelines. ``American dietary guidelines dietary guidelines Cardiology A series of dietary recommendations from the Nutrition Committee of the Am Heart Assn, that promote cardiovascular health. See Caloric restriction, food pyramid, French paradox. change every five to 10 years,`` Matustik said. ``It's a more scientific approach.`` Agency officials said that their committment of putting the children first helped in them winning the statewide honor. ``Our philosophy (and) theme is that the kids are our customers,`` said Matustik. ``Service is the most important part of our job. We should never forget that.`` The nonprofit agency formed after school district leaders realized that they could not afford to run full-service kitchens at each individual campus. Currently the agency works with Newhall School District The Newhall School District is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley that serves the Valencia and Newhall communities within the city of Santa Clarita, California, as well as the Stevenson Ranch community in unincorporated Los Angeles County. , Castaic Union School District, Sulphur Springs Sulphur Springs, city (1990 pop. 14,062), seat of Hopkins co., NE Tex., in a farm area; inc. 1859. Vegetables, wheat, rice, and corn are grown, and livestock and dairying are important. There is clay and timber in the area. Union School District, and Saugus Union School District The Saugus Union School District is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley that serves the Saugus, Valencia, and Canyon Country communities within the city of Santa Clarita, California. As of March 25,2006, it has 15 elementary schools. . |
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