(L-R) Chef Mark Gandara, Cindy Miozzi Sunny Gandara, Sandy McKelvey with new kitchen set

Haldane receives gift from First lady’s Let’s Move campaign

By Sandy McKelvey

Haldane completed the first year of its Farm to School initiative and on June 20th,  a gift from First Lady Michelle Obama’s national Let’s Move campaign was presented to Cindy Miozzi: a free cookware demonstration kit. When Haldane partnered with Chef Mark Gandara for the Chef in the Classroom program, a component of the farm to school initiative, Superintendent Dr. Villanti registered Haldane on the Let’s Move Campaign/ Chefs Move to Schools national website. The Chef’s Move program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, helps chefs partner with interested schools in their communities to create healthy meals that meet the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets, while teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices.
       For registering with the national campaign, Haldane received a free cookware demonstration kit from The Partnership for a Healthier America. It contains All-Clad pots and pans, cooking utensils, bowls, a portable induction burner and more, valued over $2,000. The Partnership for a Healthier America is a partner of the First Lady’s Let’s Move Initiative. They seek to link and mobilize the private sector, foundations, thought leaders, media, and local communities to action and further the goals of curbing childhood obesity within a generation.        

Chef Mark Gandara and Cindy Miozzi try out the pots

The gift was presented to Cindy Miozzi, Haldane’s food service director. Cindy has been working with Chef Mark since the beginning of the school year preparing the recipes he develops in the classroom and serving them to the whole school each month. Farmer’s Choice is what Miozzi calls the fresh, local vegetable dish she serves in the cafeteria each month. Sandy McKelvey said that what is great about Haldane’s Farm to School initiative is what happens in the cafeteria. Each month, the entire student body is exposed to new foods. Not only are the kids that buy lunch encouraged to try the new vegetable dish, but anyone who is adventurous enough can ask to try a free sample. For the final Chef in the Classroom event of the school year, Mrs. Battersby’s 5th grade class made a “Rhubarb Jumble Crumble” with Chef Mark. The following week it was served in the cafeteria. It was met with so much enthusiasm that kids were asking for seconds and ultimately it sold out.  Haldane is looking forward to starting up the program again in the fall and trying out the new cookware and tools they received for participating in the Let’s Move campaign.
Photos by Linda Speziale

Another story about the Haldane Farm to School program may be found HERE.

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