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Taste of 91��Ƭ�� features student-created dishes

If you cook it, they will come.

And then they’ll come back for seconds. And thirds.

The first-ever Taste of the 91��Ƭ�� was proof that if students have outstanding dining options that come from the minds of their classmates, there’s a hunger for that fare.

The event at Seguin High School last Tuesday served as a showcase for the district’s By Students 4 Students program, where 91��Ƭ�� high school culinary students get creative to get their menu item in schools throughout the district. The Taste of 91��Ƭ�� also gave the public a chance to see what students are whipping up, as everyone was welcome to attend.

More than 400 showed up to sample food created by students from Arlington, Bowie, Martin and Seguin high schools as well as the Dan Dipert Career + Technical Center.

Those showing up and expecting to eat the kind of school lunches they grew up on were pleasantly surprised. And stuffed!

“What a great opportunity for kids to show their skills and do their thing,” said David Adams, who attended with his wife Aubrey and doesn’t even have a student in the school district. “To have everyone come out and try this, where else do you get this opportunity? It’s fantastic. This wasn’t going to be our dinner, but now it is.”

Adams said that after only sampling six of the 12 menu items available. That was before he had a chance to eat chicken and dumplings or the chicken parmesan or the egg bites. The Adams were expecting to go eat dinner after they left. That didn’t happen because they were too full.

Taste highlighted a program that started more than two years ago when Bowie High School’s culinary students put together items to get them on the school menu. The program has blossomed since then, with community partners like getting on board and putting Prince-inspired food in district cafeterias.

All the menu items must meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines before they can be served to students. Students showcased their items for district staff last spring, and the Taste of Arlington was the first chance for the public to get to sample the food.

 The event was special for the students who had a hand in creating the dishes.

“It makes me really happy and it’s really rewarding,” said Martin junior Kennedie Jamison, who helped with the Cajun chicken alfredo dish people sampled and will be served at campuses this fall. “I get to spread my design wings. It’s a ‘Wow’ moment for me.”

It was a wow moment for the district, too.

“The thing I love about it the most is that it’s centered on student learning,” 91��Ƭ�� superintendent Dr. Matt Smith said. “So not only are we sampling good food, but this is about the community partnering with kids to help them learn, grow and showcase their skills. It’s awesome.”

In addition to eating, there was a festive atmosphere at the event with mascots from the Texas Rangers and UT Arlington on hand as well as prizes given away. Families could also find out more information about free and reduced-price meal benefits as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

For parents and students who attended Taste, it left them excited about what they’ll be able to eat this year. KP Holley attended with her two daughters – Trinity and Kirsten. Trinity is starting school at Gunn Junior High and Fine Arts and Dual Language Academy while Kirsten is at Arlington High.

KP Holley was used to eating lunch with her daughter in elementary school. Now she’s going to miss out on some of the newest offerings with her daughter at Gunn.

“I’ve got a junior high kid, and we don’t go to lunch with them so I’m not going to get this anymore,” she said. “That was my only time to get this. I loved the wings. I loved the calzones. I loved the stir fry. I loved everything I tried.”

The community support for the event was huge, with Aziz Kobty from Prince Lebanese Grill helping spearhead that effort.

He worked with 91��Ƭ�� executive director of food and nutrition services David Lewis to get the program expanded. It was the Prince wings that was one of the first new dishes to debut in 91��Ƭ�� schools, and there are Prince-inspired spices at district campuses so students can add their own flavor to their meals.

Kobty, who attended Martin High School, is proud to see how far the program has come.

“What these kids have come up with is amazing,” he said. “They have to bring flavor to the schools. There are so many kids and cultures that need to be represented on the lunch line. Even the adults here are like, ‘We didn’t have this when I was growing up.’ Teachers want to eat lunch in the cafeteria. I’m proud of all the kids and all the food that’s been made.”

from Taste of 91��Ƭ��.