By Katherine Abatti
Hats off to Becky Rangel and her outstanding work with the Lander County School District's hot lunch program! Rangel is the food services director for the Lander County School District. She started in January of 2011. With a degree in business and a background in the food industry, Rangel is making a difference.
Following strict guidelines put forth by the State of Nevada's nutrition program, Rangel designs menus that exceed the standard.
Rangel carefully considers nutritional value, calorie intake, sodium, fat, cholesterol and protein content, as well as fiber, iron and vitamins in each meal. Each new food she introduces must be broken down and analyzed for nutritional value.
Feeding 380 children per day, for four different schools is no easy task. Rangel devotes an immense amount of time to this program and is extremely dedicated to providing the best possible meals. All foods are prepared in the central kitchen and appropriated to individual schools. Rangel has just three employees, and does most of the actual cooking herself. The set up and breakdown alone takes two hours.
The meals include fresh fruit or vegetables, milk as well as the entree and dessert. Rangel is trying to add the availability of water and natural fruit juice as an alternative to milk. She is present at meal time and pays close attention to what the children are eating or throwing out. She encourages them to try new things and eat their greens! Rangel agrees that a longer period of time for the children to eat would improve the program.
The cost is very affordable: $2.50 - $3 per lunch and $3.50 for adults. Rangel makes sure no child goes hungry.
Students have ID cards, which they present in line to pay. The cards also notify the cashier of any allergies or diet restrictions. Cards can be credited online at www.lander.k12.nv.us. The menu and card holder history is also available on this site.
The cafeteria is in a safe, clean, friendly environment and good manners are encouraged. Rangel would like to see more parent involvement and invites parents to join their children for lunch.
Rangel has been a Battle Mountain resident for 23 years. She is married and has two children and a new grandchild. She is originally from Nampa, Idaho. We are lucky to have this fantastic individual looking out for our kids. So put your money where their mouths are, and try a hot lunch!
Katherine Abatti is a resident of Battle Mountain.
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